We're Like Sparks (We Are Alive)
by SereneCalamity
Summary: Sebastian liked Jace, and that was good, because Jace liked Sebastian. But Jace loved Clary, and he was pretty sure that Sebastian liked Clary as well. Clary really wasn't sure if she was ready for a relationship with one man, muchless two. Jace/Seb/Clary.
1. Chapter 1

_Aaaand another new story. Haha. I know, I'm terrible. But I just looove these three._

 _Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. Or the title, which comes from_ Sparks _by Neon Hitch._

"There must be something better that we could be doing on a Friday afternoon," Jace Herondale sighed, stretching in the seat he was in, scrunching up his nose as he tilted his head to the side.

"There _are_ better things that we could be doing," Clarissa Fray grinned from where she was packing up her things behind him. They were in the living room of a house that would probably be a really nice family home—three bedroom, a spacious living room and kitchen, a bathroom and an extra toilet—if it wasn't for the fact that the whole place was used to make porn movies. Pretty much everything got sanitized at least twice a day, and Clary was thankful for that, or else she would never even sit down. "And I'm about to go and do one of them."

"Hot date?" Jace joked lightly, although curiosity was showing in his eyes.

"Something like that," Clary was still grinning, but not offering any further details.

"Aw, come on, Fray," Jace stuck out his lower lip in a pout. "It's your final day with us, and you're not going to stick around and celebrate? I'm sure we could find something that would make it worth your while." As if on queue, there was a loud, breathy, and very fake moan from the laptop that Jace was playing the recently filmed video through, and she let out a laugh.

"Strangely enough, I don't actually want to stick around here any longer than I need to," Clary lifted her eyebrows as she looked around. "Anyway, we're going out later on tomorrow night..." she sighed and her nose wrinkled. "You're getting out of here soon, right? You are _way_ to good to be stuck doing this shit for much longer."

"I just need to save up a bit more money, to make sure I've got enough to get me by if I have a dry spell at work," Jace replied, an answer that Clary knew all too well.

The two of them had met three years ago, both in their second year of college. Jace was getting a degree in videography while Clary was getting one in photography. They had a mutual friend—Isabelle Lightwood—who had introduced them at a party, and they had screwed that night in Isabelle's brothers bedroom, given Alexander Lightwood was out of town that weekend. They had actually ended up becoming pretty close, given their degrees kept in the same part of the university, and a lot of their classes were at the same time, so they had lunch together three times a week. Once they had finished, Jace had moved into Clary's home that had been left to her by Valentine Morgenstern when he had passed away the year before. They didn't really have a friends with benefits relationship, because since the first time when they had slept together, they had only been together twice since then. Jace had had a girlfriend for almost ten months, while Clary was more than happy living up the single life, working her way through both men and woman, owning her sexuality.

Jace had been introduced to Victor Aldertree by one of the girls he dated for a weeks, she was stripping nights in the weekends to help pay her way through college. Some of the other girls at the club also did porn videos, and the director, Victor, said that he needed a new camera guy. Jace had come in, done a few shots, and Victor had liked him. A few months later, Victor had asked if he knew any photographers who were looking for some easy money, to take a few shots for promotional purposes online and for some magazines he was associated with.

Clary had no qualms about it, it was easy money, only required a couple of hours work, and since Jace was there, the two of them could work together. The men and woman who starred and the videos were mostly cool as well, and Clary had become close with Kaelie Whitewillow, even going home with her a couple of times.

But it had been a year and a half now, and since graduating with their degrees, both Jace and Clary had been managing to find more work that they actually wanted in their fields of expertise. Careers in the arts were hard to come by, though, and with so many people in the same field, sometimes months could go by without a job. Jace had a job with an advertising agency, where he did work three days a week, and it was good, but until he got promoted to full time, he was going to keep working for Aldertree Firms.

Clary, on the other hand, had taken a photo that had taken the art world by storm, and she had even managed to get it featured in a prominent art gallery in New York. Jace, along with Clary's, best friend, Simon Lewis, and Isabelle had all gone to New York for the opening night, and back in the hotel that night, had been third—and most recent time—that they had slept together. She had been tipsy, and she had been so _goddamn beautiful,_ still in complete disbelief that she actually had one of her photographs as the centre piece of an art show.

Jace had been so proud of her, and his jaw still ached the next afternoon, given how long he had spent with his mouth between her legs, making her come over and over again, wanting to show her just how proud he was.

Offers had flooded in after that for Clary, and so she had given Victor three weeks notice, and next week, she was going to be doing a fashion shoot, for a big magazine that Isabelle had been addicted to for years. The amount that she was getting paid for it was about four weeks of pay for Jace, and while maybe a lesser man would be jealous, Jace was just glad that things were starting to work out for her.

"Alright, so I'll see you tomorrow night, right?" Clary said as she slung her camera bag over her shoulder, picking up her handbag in her other hand.

"You not going to be home tonight?" Jace asked.

"Might be, but I'll be late," Clary replied with a shrug. "Or I'll just be so worn out I'll stay over at Maia's tonight," she smirked.

"Alright, I'll see you sometime tomorrow then," Jace reached up to give her a kiss on the cheek and she waved over her shoulder at him as she headed out of the house.

* * *

"You are so...Fucking...Gorgeous..." Clary said between kisses, first over Maia Roberts neck, and then her shoulder. Maia let out a soft sigh as her fingers moved to Clary's hair, tangling in her long red hair which had been pulled from the braid she had had it in all day, and was falling in waves against her pale skin. Clary shifted back to Maia's neck, her tongue flicking out over the three scars which were a lighter shade of caramel than the rest of her body. Maia sighed, wiggling underneath the red head, bucking her hips up to meet her lovers.

"You want to say thank you, you'd be using that tongue a little lower," Maia joked lightly and Clary pulled back to roll her eyes at the dark haired girl, her curls splayed out over the pillow.

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there," Clary snarked back. "What—you're not into foreplay anymore?"

"It's been a long week," Maia whined, thrusting her hips up again and Clary laughed, shaking her head. She pressed her lips against Maia's, cutting short any further any conversation, while her fingers danced lightly up her inner thigh, getting closer to the middle of her legs. Clary was crouched over Maia, their breasts brushing together every few moments, and Clary's nipples were straining to be touched.

But Maia came first right now, because like she said, this was about saying thank you.

Clary bit lightly at the girl's lip, tugging at it as her fingers moved between Maia's legs, lightly running her fingers over her trimmed pubic hair. Her fingernail scratched over her slit, grazing her slit with the tip of her nail and a shudder ran through the dark haired girls body. Clary smiled against her lips, before letting her tongue slide down her chin, biting softly before attaching itself to her neck, sucking softly as she pressed her thumb gently against her clit, slowly moving in a circular motion.

"Shit," Maia cursed, her body arching upward at the soft touch. They had been rolling around on the double bed for the past half an hour, kissing, grinding against each other, sucking on one anothers neck's and breasts, and they were both ready and wanting. Maia was wound up, thinking that she was going to get an orgasm right at the start, not realizing originally that Clary planned to drag it out. "Come on—come on, Clare," she begged, pulling at her hair, thrusting her hips again to meets the other girls hand.

Clary didn't bother replying as she kissed her way down to the valley between her breasts, licking and biting her way from one breast to another, before getting lower, lipping at her stomach, dipping into her belly button before finally getting to the spot that Maia wanted her the most.

"Fuck, _yes_ ," Maia hissed as Clary flattened her tongue, the point of her tongue dipping into her hole before the wet warmth of her mouth engulfed her pussy. "Oh, shit. Fuck, fuck, _fuck_ ," Maia whined, twisting on the bed, grasping at the white sheets, twisting it in her fists. It didn't take long before she came, given how worked up she already was, but Clary didn't stop at the point. She could feel the other girls juices dripping down her chin, and soaking into the sheet below her, but she kept going. Her ears were filled with the whines and paints of Maia, and the girl was twitching and her thighs were trembling. Maia came, again and again, until she was pushing at Clary's head, trying to shove her away, but Clary just smirked and kept going, making her come until her whole body was wracked with shivers of pleasure. Her whole body was limp when Clary pulled away, resting back on her folded legs and wiping her mouth with her hand.

"You good?" Clary lifted an eyebrow at Maia, who didn't bother opening her eyes, just lifting her hand to weakly pull the fingers at her. Clary laughed, straightening out and falling on the bed beside Maia, folding one of her arms behind her head. Her own cunt was absolutely throbbing, eager for attention, but she waited patiently, letting Maia recover from her multiple orgasms.

When Maia finally seemed to regain control over her body, she rolled over, stretching out on top of Clary and giving her a few soft kisses on her mouth before she rolled back off Clary, reaching under her bed. Clary heard her rustling around under the bed, and then she lifted herself up on her knees. She had her strap on in her hand, and she quickly sorted out the straps around her waist and securing it around her upper legs. Clary spread her legs, shuffling down the bed to get closer to Maia, eager to get the phallic shaped rubber inside of her.

Maia didn't make her wait, didn't draw it out like Clary had with her, and the red head was happy, because giving Maia so much pleasure had just made her even hungrier for her own. Maia hooked her arms under her thighs, spreading them wider, tipping her backward so that her pelvis was tilted upward. Clary let out a ragged pant as the cool rubber touched her hole initially, and then Maia pushed into her, hitting all the right spots at the angle she had maneuvered into Clary.

"Holy fuck," Clary groaned, one hand going to her breast, pinching at her nipple, the other clamping down over Maia's, which was holding one of her thighs. "Oh fuck, holy hell—" Maia smirked, her hips thrusting forward again and again, filling Clary over and over. Maia kept on fucking into her, at one point moving one of her hands and strumming at Clary's clit, which sent her spiralling toward her orgasm.

Afterwards, the two woman lay next to each other, Clary pretty sure she dozed off at one point. When she fully came to again, the light coming through the long windows was dimmer, and the sun had obviously sunk lower in the sky. Maia gave her a soft kiss on the shoulder before getting up, walking over to pick up a blouse on the ground, slipping it on, not bothering with underwear as she walked toward the kitchen. Her whole apartment was open plan, except for the bathroom in the corner, and a single wall which separated the kitchen from the lounge, although it was still open to everything else. She had a corner apartment as well, so there were long windows along two walls, flooding the place with so much light throughout the day.

Clary loved her house, her biological fathers home that he had left to her when he had passed away, but she had the occasional twinge of jealousy toward Maia for such a gorgeous place to live.

"You hungry?" Maia asked from where she was now standing in the kitchen, already filling up the water for her coffee maker.

"Nah, but I'll have one of those," Clary waved her hand in the direction of the coffee maker. Maia nodded, getting everything organized before putting the coffee on. Once she got out two cups and put them on the table, she came back over to the bed, crawling over and sitting down next to Clary.

"So..." she began. "Do I get a copy of this famous picture?" She asked with a smirk and Clary grinned.

"I'm getting one specially framed for you, babe," Clary assured her. "I told you I would. I'm just looking for the perfect frame."

"I'm going to hang it right here," Maia pointed above her bed, at the open brick wall, and Clary grinned.

"It'll look perfect there," she agreed.

The photo—the one that had shot Clary to sudden recognition in the photography world, and been a feature at a gallery, and had opened the door for her with so many different job opportunities—was of Maia. She had titled it _The Beauty of Imperfection_ , and it had been a photo that Clary had taken after she and Maia had had sex in the middle of the afternoon. She had just come from a wedding, and she had all her equipment, although she hadn't planned on taking any photos.

But Maia had looked so beautiful, laying there, the duvet dragged off the bed and the pillows somewhere on the floor, so that she was only on the white sheet, the top white sheet pulled up to cover most of her ass. The white sheet was a contrast with her darker skin, and her black curls were a complete mess. She was half on her side, one of her legs hitched up, and the way the sheet was falling, part of one flawless ass cheek was showing. One arm was stretched above her head, and she was resting on it, and her neck was bared, showing off the three scars there.

Clary hadn't been able to stop herself from going over to get her camera and getting up on the wooden foot of the bed, taking an aerial shot of Maia.

She had cleaned the photo up a bit, smoothing out the edges, cropping it so that the mattress filled the whole screen, the white sheet was the whole backdrop, with Maia in the middle, looking absolutely _fucking gorgeous_ despite the scars on her neck. _Because_ of the scars on her neck.

Maia was absolutely stunning, and her scars just made her unique, and after the photograph had become so famous, she had been called by the very modelling agencies that had originally asked her to cover up the scars, telling her that they wanted her to represent them, and they had businesses calling, asking for her to be the face of their new campaigns. Clary was just glad that when her friend gave her permission to use the photo, it had helped her modelling career as well.

Which is the reason why Clary was saying 'thank you' to Maia today.

"So you're officially finished with Victor's business, right?" Maia asked as she got back off the bed to make their drinks as the coffee maker beeped.

"Yup, did my last shoot today," Clary answered, rolling onto her side to watch Maia as she moved around the kitchen. "A lesbian scene with Kaelie—and my first one was actually lesbian scene with Kaelie, so it was kind of like coming around in a full circle," she let out a laugh and Maia rolled her eyes.

"Jace was there as well, right?"

"Yeah, he was filming," Clary nodded, glancing around the apartment, wondering where her bra had gone.

"How does he feel about you leaving?" Maia asked as she came back to the bed with the two mugs of coffee in her hands.

"Well, I'm sure he'll be absolutely fine. We'll still each other everyday," Clary shrugged. "Anyway, tell me about this guy that you met the other day, you said he asked you out, right? You think you're going to take him up on it?" Maia grinned, and started talking about the underwear model she met on one of her shoots.

 _Okay! Let me know what you guys thought! Let me know if you liked it, if you didn't, what your favourite part was, etc etc._

 _Alright, now I've got so many song and movie recommendations given the gap in updating, so I'll limit it down. Movie wise,_ The Last Jedi _and_ The Greatest Showman _are both absolutely incredibly. Especially_ TGS _. Holy shit, the songs and the costumes and the dances, they were all amazing. I don't even know what my favourite songs from it is..._ This Is Me, Rewrite The Stars, Never Enough, From Now On _...I just don't know! And TV series recommendations would be_ The Gifted, Black Lightning _and_ The Runaways.

 _Songwise,_ I'm Gonna Show You Crazy _by Bebe Rexha,_ Him and I _by Halsey and G-Eazy,_ Missing You _by Blake McGrath,_ Never Enough _from The Greatest Showman,_ My My My _by Troye Sivan,_ Dynasty _by MIIA and_ Phases _by French Montana._

 _Let me know what your own recommendations are! I note down all your song, TV series and movies suggestions so I can get around to them when I have time!_

 _Make sure you check out my other updates and let me know if you want a preview of the next chapter xx_


	2. Chapter 2

_Another update! Also, if you enjoy the Sebastian/Jace/Clary relationship, I've also got the multi-chapter fic_ Maybe If The Stars Align _posted as well :)_

Jace let out a groan as he felt his cock hit the back of Sebastian Verlac's throat. Jace was trying to watch the whole thing from where he was sitting on the edge of the bed, but his eyes kept closing given just how fucking _good_ Sebastian looked, on his knees in front of him, still fully clothed, his red lips stretched to accommodate for Jace's cock. Sebastian sucked him down a couple more times before he pulled off his cock and ducked his head to lick at his sac.

"Fuck, Seb!" Jace growled, his toes cracking as he curled them viciously, trying to stave off his orgasm. Jace put one hand on Sebastian's shoulder, gripping the black shirt he was wearing, holding it tightly as Sebastian took one ball into his mouth, and then the next. His hand circled around Jace's cock and began pumping, and the simultaneous attention to his cock and his balls was so blindingly good, he felt his whole body jolt forward. He wasn't too sure how much longer he would be able to sit there, because his body felt as though it was going to melt into the mattress.

Obviously Sebastian was ready for something different as well, because he straightened up and put a hand on Jace's chest, shoving him backward so that he was lying down. Jace was about to ask if Sebastian wanted him to move further up, towards the pillows, but Sebastian just got up and man-handled him into the position he wanted him in. Jace bounced a few times as Sebastian crouched on the edge of the bed, pushing Jace's legs up and apart and then burying his face in his ass.

"Holy fuck!" Jace let out an aborted shout, and was glad that Clary wasn't home, or she would never let him live down the fact that he was being louder than a girl. Then again, the idea of Clary hearing him with Sebastian, or her being just on the other side of the thin walls, did all sort of things to his cock. Sebastian had his tongue buried in his ass, sloppy and wet and making obscene noises, and Jace wasn't even trying to keep quiet.

The second Sebastian slid his finger in, curling it upward to press firmly against his prostate, Jace was gone, coming with a shout, spurting white streaks across his tanned cheeks. Sebastian rubbed against his prostate a few more times, wrapping a hand around Jace's cock to milk him of the last few drops before he pulled back, one of his rare smiles pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"I'm gonna fuck you now," Sebastian stated, in absolutely no way asking a question. But that was what Jace liked about Sebastian, what he had liked right from the start when Sebastian had come up to him in a club and said that he got off at three and he wanted Jace to wait for him outside. Sebastian knew what he wanted and what he liked, and he took it. But he also wasn't one of those assholes who just liked to take, he was just as happy to suck Jace off and eat his ass as he was to fuck Jace's face or ass. Sebastian was slow when he first pushed in, and then as he eased in a second time, but then once he knew that Jace was stretched enough for it not to be too painful, he got rougher.

He had Jace's legs back, shoving into him until Jace was barely able to see straight as he stared up at the ceiling. Jace could barely feel his legs, but he was vaguely aware of the fact that he came a second time from the pressure being applied to his prostate so quickly after he had already come.

When Sebastian finished, he rolled to the side, laying next to Jace and taking a few moments to catch his breath again. Jace didn't have anywhere that he needed to be, and he liked Sebastian hanging around after they fucked. He hadn't been with anyone serious in quite a while, and unlike Clary, he didn't really have good friendships with the people that he slept with. Not to say that he treated them like shit, he was never rude and didn't send them away as soon as they were gone, but if they hung out too much afterwards, or did the whole pillow talk thing, Jace was worried he would get attached. He didn't quite understand how Clary managed to just stay friends with the people she slept with regularly, and it was probably the reason that he gravitated toward more shallow one night stands.

Sebastian was different, though.

For some reason.

"Are you working tonight?" Jace asked when he opened his eyes again, still not properly able to feel his legs, so not quite ready to go across the hall to the bathroom to clean up.

"Yup," Sebastian nodded his head, although his eyes were still closed and he had one muscled arm bent at the elbow, tucked behind his head. "Until close."

"I might see you then," Jace told him lightly, nudging his side. "We're going out to celebrate Clary, well..." he made a face and tilted his head to the side. "Getting out of the porn business, but then it sounds so much worse when you say it out loud." Sebastian let out a short laugh and shook his head, finally opening his eyes and looking at Jace. It was weird, the first time that Jace met Sebastian, he had thought that he was wearing contacts because they were so dark, but it turned out that Sebastian just had incredibly dark—almost black eyes.

"I know what you mean," he said, and then took in a deep breath before getting up off the bed. Jace unabashedly watched as Sebastian walked around the bed and toward the door, his naked figure leaving the room and going across to the bathroom that was opposite. He had been here enough times to know his way around, and when he came back into the room, he tossed a damp flannel at Jace for him to clean up. Sebastian picked up his briefs from the ground and pulled them on, and Jace wondered if he was getting ready to go, but once he pulled on his sweatpants, he laid back down on the bed. Jace cleaned himself up quickly and then put the damp flannel on the bedside table next to him.

"Maybe I can get someone to cover the last half of my shift," Sebastian said quietly. "So I can meet your girl finally."

"She's not my girl," Jace sung out with a roll of his eyes as he looked at Sebastian, who was laying next to him. Sebastian teased him often about his relationship with Clary, and most of the time Jace just shrugged it off because he viewed it as exactly that, teasing. But sometimes he got a feeling that Sebastian genuinely thought that there was something more between them. "But that would be cool, Alec and Izzy are going to be there with us as well, and Izzy's boyfriend. I think Maia is coming as well."

"Maia was the one who was in the picture that got the awards, right?" Sebastian asked and Jace nodded. "I looked on her website the other day—your girls, not Maia's," Jace didn't bother to try and correct him this time. "She's got some incredible art pieces, I'm surprised she didn't get discovered earlier."

"She doesn't want to be a famous photographer," Jace shrugged. "Her mum was. Her mum did these absolutely incredible pieces, going all over the world, taking photos of people in different cultures from all over before deciding to 'settle down'—" Jace made quotation marks with his fingers at that. "—And just do fashion shoots. But those shoots still had her bouncing across the country, and she was gone pretty much all of Clary and her brothers childhood. Her mother cared more about her career than she did about her family, and about her friends. When she died a couple of years ago, pretty much everyone there were work acquaintances, and the whole thing was just cold and awkward," he sighed as he remembered the funeral a couple of years ago. "She just wants to do what makes her happy, and spend her life with people who make her happy." Sebastian was quiet for a long few moments before he gently nudged Jace's side with his elbow.

"Is that why she lives with you?" He asked softly. There was no judgement in his voice, toward Jace or Clary, it was just a simple question. "Because you're someone who makes her happy?"

"I—" Jace wasn't sure how to answer that, completely caught off guard. "I...Suppose?" He frowned as he thought about it before shaking his head. "Anyway, I think it would be cool, if you could get off work a little bit earlier, hang out with us." Sebastian nodded and turned his head forwards once again, so that he was looking up at the ceiling.

"So there's Maia, the girl from the picture. There's Alec, the one who always looks moody in the pictures that are on your Facebook—" Jace let out a laugh at the description. "—Izzy, who looks like a fashion model—both of who are your cousins. Izzy's boyfriend is the one that wears glasses. And then there's Clary, the one who's house we're in, but I've never actually met," he said it lightly, but it sounded as though there might be something a little deeper.

"Sounds like you've got it sussed," Jace gave him a half smile, although Sebastian wasn't looking at him. "Um," he cleared his throat, licking his tongue along his plump lower lip. "Maybe we could go out and get something to eat after?"

"Something to eat?" Sebastian turned his head back to face him. "It'll be like three or four in the morning, and I'm guessing you're going to be drunk," there was a smirk on his face.

"Well, yeah, okay," Jace relented. "You could be drunk as well, if you're not working."

"I prefer to steer clear of alcohol," Sebastian stated, and Jace wasn't surprised. They hadn't been seeing each other for very long, if getting together and fucking every couple of days could be called 'seeing each other'. It had maybe been two months, and it was all very casual, mainly at Sebastian's loft, since for some reason Jace didn't like bringing lovers back to Clary's home when she was there. It wasn't as though she had any problem with it, she told him time and time again that he was her flat mate, and he should treat the place like it was his own, but something was holding him back. In the time that they had been seeing each other, though, Jace had never seen Sebastian have a drink. "Although, if you still want, afterwards we could go back to my place, share a bong, maybe do a bit more of this," Sebastian waved his hand between the two of them.

"That sounds like a good plan," Jace's smile stretched and Sebastian let out a short laugh.

"Alright, well, I better get going," Sebastian said, getting up off the bed and searching around for his shirt.

"I think it was somewhere in the hallway," Jace called out helpfully and Sebastian rolled his eyes as he walked out of the room and then made a noise of triumph, and Jace knew that he had found the shirt that had been ripped off in their earlier passion. Sebastian came back in, fully dressed now, and he glanced down at Jace on the bed.

"Text me—tonight, when you get to the club," Sebastian said. "I'll find someone to cover some of my shift, there's a couple of the guys there that owe me."

"Perfect," Jace got off the bed, coming over to stand in front of Sebastian and pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. Or, at least as chaste as a kiss could be when one of them was completely naked. Sebastian's hand slid over his hip and began sliding down to his ass, before Jace slapped his hand away playfully and stepped back. Sebastian gave him a quick smirk before he walked out of the room, and a couple of minutes later, Jace heard the front door slam shut. Jace walked over to where his cell phone was on the dresser, and he picked it up and checked the time.

It was almost four in the afternoon, and Clary would be here soon, and Isabelle and Simon would probably be over in an hour or so, and Maia might even come with Clary, since he was pretty sure that that was where she was. So it was about time that he had a shower and started getting ready, since Clary would hog the bathroom once she got home. There were two bathrooms in the house, but for some reason, they always used the same one, leaving the one at the back of the house for whenever they had guests.

Jace rolled his eyes when he saw that Clary had one of her bras hanging over the towel warming rack, a lacy purple and cream coloured one, and then felt slightly guilty at the fact his cock twitched in interest when he had _just_ been with Sebastian. He had actually seen Clary in that particular bra a couple of times, and one of those times, she had only been in that bra, because she had been searching for the matching underwear in her room and hadn't closed her door properly.

But the thing was, that wasn't the only problem that he had with Clary.

If they were just friends, and he had a couple of sexual fantasies about her as well, then that was fine, he could deal with that. That was normal, to be friends with someone and to have sexual thoughts about them. Hell, Jace had even pictured Simon Lewis once while he had been jerking off, although that had been momentary and fleeting, because he and Simon were barely friends at the best of times, and not in the sexy, hate-fueled lovers tryst way either.

No, Jace had no problem accepting that it was okay for him to have thoughts about his friends in a sexual way.

Jace's problem with Clary was that it wasn't _just_ those thoughts that he had about her.

He liked her.

He _liked_ her.

In fact, he was pretty sure that he loved her.

When his thoughts drifted to Clary, the thoughts weren't just when he was getting off in his bed or in the shower, and they didn't just centre around the sexual persuasion. Sometimes he would be watching TV on the couch, and she was at the other end of the couch and playfully digging her toes into his thigh, and he just wanted this to keep happening. He wanted there to be lazy Sundays on the couch or in bed, and he wanted those cutesy texts that he always teased his cousins about, and he wanted to be able to kiss her temple whenever he felt like it.

Jace loved Clary.

He wasn't sure when it had happened, because the realization had sort of just hit him in the face one day, about seven or eight months ago. He hadn't acted on it, and he definitely hadn't told Clary, because he didn't want her to feel obligated to say or do something that she wasn't ready for.

But there was also Sebastian.

And he liked what he had with Sebastian.

It was new and he really didn't know what was happening, but he didn't want that to end any time soon.

 _Okay._

 _So, I had my movie/TV show/song recommendations all written up, but then Wednesday happened, and I kind of wanted to say something and it didn't seem right to put them in here along with this._

 _So...I'm going to start this with; I don't understand. I can't comprehend. I have absolutely no idea what the people and the families of those involved in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida are going through. I can't even imagine what...What they're feeling or how they're doing._

 _I just...I don't even know how to put what I personally feel into words, and then I think about how shit and selfish that is, because I'm halfway around the world, and yet there are people who were_ there _, people who were_ in that school _, and they've been incredibly brave by doing interviews or getting out there via social media about what they went through, and what_ needs to happen _. I watched an interview with one boy who put it well, "We are children. You guys are the adults. Work together, get over your politics and get something done."_

Yes _._

 _Where I live, the last time we had a mass shooting—which is defined where four or more people selected indiscriminately, not including the perpetrator, are killed—was in 1997. In my life time, there have only been three. From what I understand, there have been_ eight school shootings this year alone _in the US. I just—I can't even understand that._

 _I don't usually put things up about national/international events, but there were kids my baby brothers age...There were_ fourteen year olds who were killed _. How do we live in a world where someone can do that? I was absolutely bawling my eyes out when I was reading the updates and watching the videos that kids had posted and I just...I don't understand._

 _I just wanted to say I'm sorry._

 _To anyone who is directly or indirectly affected._

 _To anyone who lives in the US and this is a constant fear for you._

 _Because that's really all I can say xx_


	3. Chapter 3

_An update! About a week earlier than I planned, but I'm going away this weekend and then quite busy next week, so I thought I would update now! Also, part of the reason I'm busy next week is because it's my birthday! So here's an early birthday present from me to you xx_

Clary made a face at her reflection as she stared at the dress that she had picked out. It was one of Isabelle's which meant it sit a bit bit differently on her than it had with her friend, but it didn't look bad. In a way, she was glad that it sit differently, because on Isabelle, it barely covered her ass, so at least it reached mid-thigh on her. It was cold shoulder fashion, with short sleeves clinging to her upper arms, and a couple of straps of material crossing over her cleavage. The bra she was wearing did wonders for her cleavage, which definitely wasn't one of her strongest assets, and after regarding herself in the mirror for a moment later, she moved to her wardrobe to find a pair of shoes.

"Oi! Bitch! We come here to celebrate and you're not even ready!" Isabelle Lightwood yelled, and Clary could hear her friend getting closer, her heels clicking on the wooden floor of the hallway. Her door opened and Isabelle stepped in, looking incredible in a glittering green and black dress. "Shit, girl, you look better in that than I do."

"Fuck off," Clary laughed as she found a pair of gladiator heels that went well with the style of dress she was wearing. "I don't think anyone _ever_ looks better than you do."

"This is true," Isabelle smirked as she fell down on the corner of Clary's bed, bouncing a couple of time. "Anyway, Simon is out there talking about the newest building he's working on, and I'm pretty sure Jace is going to pass out in boredom, so we should probably get out there and save him."

"I love how you say that, 'the newest building he's _working on_ '," Clary snorted. "Makes it sound as though Simon has actually done physical labor. Which I'm pretty sure he's never done _in his life_!"

"Well," Isabelle wiggled her eyebrows up and down. "I'll have you know that Simon gets involved in some _very_ physical activity one to two times a week!" Clary snorted again and shook her head.

"Only one to two times?" She asked.

"Well, when you're single, you go out on the prowl and hump like a bunny," Isabelle stated. "But I'll have you know that when you're settled down and practically married, having someone who will massage your feet and tell you that you look beautiful when you're two days into your period and your face is broken out in acne, that's even better than sex." Clary tilted her head to the side as she regarded Isabelle, a disbelievingly look on her face.

"Is it, though? Is it really?" Clary asked and Isabelle pursed her lips together, considering it for a moment before letting out a laugh.

"Okay, it's not _as_ good, but it's definitely a close second," she conceded and Clary grinned.

"Alright, let's get out there and save Jace," Clary said as she stood up, the heels she was wearing putting some height on her, but given Isabelle was _already_ taller than her _and_ wearing heels, she was still an inch or so shorter than the dark haired girl. They walked out to the lounge, where Simon was standing and Jace was in the adjoining kitchen, cutting up a lemon on the chopping board on the bar.

"Tequila?" Isabelle scrunched up her nose. "I've had some _bad_ nights on tequila."

"Like that time when you went up to Simon and asked if he would have your babies? And got really upset when he told you that it wasn't physically possible for him to have them? And then I had to hold your hair back in the toilets because you were crying so hard you made yourself throw up?" Clary snorted and Isabelle shoved at her friend.

"Fuck you," she said with a good-natured laugh as she walked over to where Simon was standing.

"Well, let's see if you can manage to keep your shirt on this time, and don't give any old men a lap dance," Jace grinned as he pushed three shot glasses across to the other side of the bench for his three friends.

"I'll have you know that was jägermeister, thank you very much," Isabelle said snootily as she picked up the tequila and then lifted her hand to her mouth, licking the side before holding it out to Jace. He poured salt carefully along the side of her hand, and then waited as Simon and Clary did the same thing. He finally licked the palm of his own hand and poured salt on it before picking up his shot glass.

"To Clary," Jace smiled widely at her, and Clary grinned back, tilting her head to the side. "For _finally_ getting noticed for her incredible talent. And for not having to film and take photos of girls fake moan and guys take viagra to get it up anymore."

"I'll drink to that!" Clary clinked her shot glass against Jace's, and then Isabelle and Simon's in turn, before licking the salt off her hand and throwing the tequila. Tequila definitely wasn't her favourite drink, she had drunk way to much of it when she was in high school, but she didn't mind starting her night off with a few shots of it.

"Eesh!" Isabelle winced as she reached for a wedge of lemon, shoving it into her mouth and sucking it on. Jace grinned at the sour expression on Simon's face, the bespectacled man looking as though he may not be able to swallow it all down, but he forced himself, and then took the lemon wedge that Jace held out to him. "Oh, baby. You're adorable." Simon rolled his eyes at her as he pulled the wedge out of his mouth and tossed it next to the other three.

"Another round?" Jace prompted with a grin as he picked up the tequila bottle.

"No!" Simon protested as there was a knock at the door. The visitors who had just arrived didn't wait for an answer, opening up the door and walking in.

"Biscuit!" Magnus Bane cried out. "Congratulations on not having to watch sweaty men get it on with girls who look like they're twelve!" Alexander Lightwood was close behind his boyfriend, and he rolled his eyes with a fond smile as he dodged around Magnus when he stopped short to wrap his arms around Clary and hug the petite girl close.

"I see you've already started shots," Alec said in an amused tone as he moved to stand next to Jace.

"Just one," Jace grinned as he grabbed out two more shot glasses from the cupboard and put the down on the bench. "So you guys can easily catch up."

"Not for me," Alec shook his head. "I've got to be at work at seven in the morning."

"Aw," Clary pouted as she turned around to face Alec, one arm still around Magnus. "Does that mean you're going to be leaving us early tonight?" Alec stared at her for a beat, a look of indecision on his face as Clary stuck out her bottom lip further and batted her eyelashes at him. "Please stay?" She asked in a high pitched voice.

"Fiiiine," Alec sighed and both Clary and Isabelle let out a cheer. "But I'm not drinking!"

"That's fine!" Clary assured him as she left Magnus to come over and give Alec a kiss on the cheek. "We wouldn't want you hungover when you're dealing with all your kids tomorrow!"

"Well, _I'll_ be drinking," Magnus said. "So pour me one!"

* * *

It was close to eleven o'clock when the group got to the club. Jace strained his neck as they waited in the queue outside to see who was working the door, but he didn't see Sebastian. Sebastian had text him on his break to tell him that he had managed to get someone to cover him from midnight, so he would be joining them after that, and Jace could feel the nerves twisting in his stomach. He wasn't too sure why, because it wasn't as though he was introducing Sebastian as his boyfriend to the group or anything, simply a friend, that he was sleeping with. The last part didn't need to be said, but Jace's friends weren't stupid, they could pick up on things quickly. Especially Clary, because she knew that there was someone that Jace was sort of seeing, and she had figured out it was a guy as well, although she hadn't pushed him for further details when she had sensed that it wasn't something he wanted to talk about.

"Clary!" Came a call after they had gotten into the club, and Clary strained to try and see who was calling out. Jace couldn't stop a smile from breaking out across his face as he leaned forward so that his mouth was close to his ear.

"Do you need a lift up?" He teased her lightly and Clary made a face and slapped him playfully on the arm. He didn't think he had ever told her before, because it probably wasn't something that he should really be thinking about, but he loved her height, how short she was. He loved how easy it was for him to look down at her, and in the three times where they had had sex, he had used his height to his advantage, lifting her up so that her legs wrapped around her or pressing her into a wall, his hands on her neck, his tall, muscular figure basically blanketing over her smaller one.

Jace blinked his eyes and quickly shook the thoughts about of his head.

It felt kind of disloyal, thinking about Clary like that when he was meeting Sebastian here tonight. He and Sebastian had been clear about both of them being free to see other people, but Jace hadn't really felt the need. He spent most nights with Clary, and weekends with her and his friends, and then when he had an itch to scratch, he would text Sebastian.

"Clary!" Maia appeared out of the crowd of people, and her and Clary hugged quickly, Maia kissing her firmly on the mouth. Jace raised an eyebrow at that and tried to ignore that pang in his stomach, because he _knew_ that Clary didn't have anything serious with Maia, but that didn't stop Jace from being jealous that it was Maia that Clary was kissing, not him. "Hey, everyone!" She grinned at the group of friends that were surrounding Clary.

"Hey, girl," Magnus had a wide smile on his face as he leaned in to give her a hug. "I think we need to get some drinks!" There was a cheer from Isabelle and Clary, and Alec's eyes widened in dramatized horror as he exchanged looks with Jace, who grinned and shook his head. Magnus lead the way, with Isabelle and Simon close behind, Maia and Alec next, and Clary falling behind so that she was just half a step in front of Jace, her hand stretching out behind her, toward Jace. Jace took her hand, fingers slipping together easily as they made their way to the bar.

"Let me take care of this," Isabelle gave a coy smile to Magnus and tapped him out of the way with her hip, before taking his place at the counter. She rested her breasts on the counter, leaning forward and tipping her head back so that her pretty face was tilted upwards. It was only seconds before one of the bartenders came over, ignoring a few other people who had been waiting at the bar longer than them. Isabelle ordered them all a round, rattling off their drinks impressively, only faltering when coming to Maia's, given the girl wasn't usually out with them.

"Nicely done," Clary grinned as she was passed a raspberry looking concoction, and Isabelle passed out the rest of the drinks as the bartender quickly made them and passed them over. Alec took over from there, paying for the first round. Given how often they went out for dinners and brunches and drink together, they all just took turns paying as they went. "Alright," Clary said as they managed to find a gap at one of the tables, a few girls with bright coloured drinks at the other end. "I just wanted to say thank you, to all you pretty people, for all your support and for believing in me. You're all beautiful and amazing," she grinned widely and held her drink up, and her friends cheered as they all clinked their glasses together and drank from them.

It only took half an hour or so before the girls—and Magnus—were buzzed and bouncing around and ready to dance. Isabelle tried to get Simon to join them, but he had had nowhere near enough alcohol to get his awkward ass out on the dance floor, and so she gave up and linked fingers with Clary, and they merged into the crowd of gyrating people. From where Alec, Simon and Jace were left standing at the high table, up a couple steps from the mosh pit of people, they were able to see the tops of their friends heads bobbing up and down, and would only occasionally get glimpses of their faces when the spotlights spun in their direction.

The girls down the other end of their table were making eyes at them. Alec shut them down with his usual, charming glare, while Simon just looked flustered when one of the girls wrapped her lips around her straw and sucked on it seductively, and Jace settled for giving them a small, disinterested smile before turning his eyes back to his friends pointedly. He probably would have taken one of the girls—or even potentially two—up on their offer if it was another night, but he had other things on his mind.

He hadn't seen Sebastian yet, but that didn't surprise him. It wasn't too often that Sebastian worked the door at the clubs, he was usually one of the guys who stood inconspicuously in the corners, shoulders squared and a fixed glower on his face. He was tall and had broad shoulders, and a mean looking glare when he wanted one, even though he had a pretty face, and so he looked the part.

He was also nervous to the point where he was struggling to stomach his beer.

"You good?" Alec asked, glancing him out of the side of his eye as Jace finally managed to pull the label off the beer bottle and screw it into a sticky bundle.

"Peachy," Jace replied.

"What's going on? I thought that you were happy for Clary," Alec continued.

"It's got nothing to do with Clary," Jace responded as he lifted his beer to his lips and took a small sip.

"It's _always_ got something to do with Clary," Alec answered knowingly and Jace rolled his eyes. Simon wasn't paying any attention to them, and Jace was glad about that, because even though Simon was his cousins boyfriend, they weren't particularly close, and he didn't want him overhearing.

"I'm meeting someone here tonight," Jace said, his voice lowered. He wasn't sure if Alec actually heard him over the music, or if he just got the gist from the movement of Jace's lips. Alec's eyebrows lifted and he nodded.

"Really? Who is she?" Alec asked.

"Uh, _he_ ," Jace corrected and Alec's eyebrows lifted even higher. It wasn't that he didn't know that Jace swung both ways, it was just that generally Jace was usually more interested in females. It wasn't too often that he was with guys, and for him to be introducing him to his friends, it made it seem pretty serious. "It's just...It's only casual, but—"

"But you like him?" Alec concluded and Jace nodded. "Good on you," he looked over to where their friends were dancing, in particular, the red head, who was laughing at something Maia was saying in her ear. "I mean, I love Clary, you know that. But you've been pining over her for so long. I think it's time you moved on."

"I haven't been pining!" Jace protested. Alec snorted and took a sip of his drink. "Well, I like her, but it's not like she's been leading me on. She seems pretty damn oblivious to the way I feel about her, and I've never exactly told her...And she hasn't made a secret that she doesn't want to be in a relationship right now." Alec nodded slowly and then opened his mouth to say something when he was distracted.

"Would _that_ happen to be the guy you're meeting?" Alec asked, sounding impressed. Jace turned his head in the direction that Alec was looking, and he didn't feel quite as anxious as he met Sebastian's eyes. He was on the other side of the club, and the only reason that Jace was able to see him over the crowds of people was because they were in a raised section where their seats were, and Sebastian was also in a raised section, where he could keep a good eye on the crowd.

"Yup," Jace nodded, his eyes still on Sebastian. "He gets off in about an hour I think."

"Well," Alec let out a laugh. "I don't know how intent you are on him, but he definitely seems to be into you. He's staring at you like you're the only person in the room.

 _Songwise; I've become completely addicted to Julia Michaels and Camila Cabello. Recent favourites of Julia Michaels are_ Uh-Huh _and_ Worst In Me _, and for Camila Cabello,_ All These Years, Consequences _and_ Somethings Gotta Give _. Especially_ All These Years _! Also there's_ Homeostasis _by Nostalghia, which is an older one. Ooh, and_ White Flag _by Bishop Briggs, which is absolutely amazing, and was sent through by_ Jling _._

 _I'm also still coming down from my Halsey concert high ;) So anything by her is recommended!_

 _So a couple of movies that I've seen over the past month are_ Ready Player One, Love, Simon, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Red Sparrow _and_ Avengers: Infinity War _._ Pacific Rim _was the typical monster versus robot shit, but no one said it was going to be a masterpiece! Haha. It was good for what it was, a depressing lack of Charlie Hunnam though._ Ready Player One _was a lot better than I though it would be, although my hubby and his friends enjoyed it a lot more than I did, given they got a lot more of the references._ Love, Simon _was beautiful and I recommend to all._ Red Sparrow _was okay, a bit long, and because I'm not the biggest fan of Jennifer Lawrence, that was already a bit of a turn off for me._

 _Now._

Avengers: Infinity War.

 _Holy shit._

 _Amazing._

 _Bucky saying 'Steve'? Okoye's side eye! M'Bakku being strong and beautiful! Steve's introduction to Groot? LOKI?! Spidey and Iron Man's last scene? Shuri's little moment? Wanda and Vision! Steve's BEARD?! Daddy AF. Pretty much everything Drax related. Thor's entry into earth?! Bucky and Rocket's interaction?! Probably a hundred thousand more things that I just don't have time to mention! I've already fangirled hard with_ Allieanna _, we're both pretty heartbroken. If you want to fangirl with me, send me a message, I am_ completely _down for that._

 _Let me know what songs you're listening to, if you've seen any of these movies, what you liked about the chapter or what you didn't like and what you think is going to happen next—leave a review, they keep me going :) Let me know if you want a preview as well xx_


	4. Chapter 4

_Happy Pride Month, beautiful people!_

"Oh, really?" Maia let out a laugh and looked over her shoulder at Clary. "Well, maybe you'll have to show me this amazing view." The guy had been hitting on Maia for the past twenty minutes, although Clary had known from the first two minutes that they had been talking that Maia was already going to go home with him. She never really wasted her time with anyone, her personality was too blunt and to the point for her to just let someone ramble if she wasn't interested.

And Clary was happy for her. Just because the celebration tonight was sort of a joint thing, given how much the photo had boosted Maia's career, it wasn't as if they were tied to each other. If Maia wanted to go home with someone, there was no way that Clary was going to stop her.

"Uh, y-yeah!" The guy looked completely taken aback that his awkward flirtng was actually working. He was cute, in a geeky kind of way, and even though he didn't seem like Maia's usual type, that was a good thing, because Maia didn't usually have the greatest taste when it came to men. "Yeah, like—like now?" He asked and Maia laughed again, looking back at Clary who just grinned at her before waving her hand at a bartender. He acknowledged her with a lift of his eyebrow and she leaned across the counter.

"Can I just have a Harvey Wallbanger?" She asked and he nodded, moving quickly to make the drink. His eyes dipped down a couple of times to the cleavage that was on display in the dress that was she was wearing, but she didn't make any sarcastic remark or pull any faces, because when he passed the drink over, he just waved his hand as she held out her debit card, giving her a small smirk.

Being a female definitely had it's perks.

"I think I'm just going to leave you two to it," Clary grinned as she leaned in to kiss Maia on the cheek. "It was nice meeting you," she waved her hand at the guy who still looked amazed that he had a chance with the curly haired beauty. She gave Maia a pointed look as she turned her boy slightly so that she couldn't be seen by the guy, and mouthed ' _text me_ '. Maia nodded and smiled before turning her attention back to her lover for the evening.

"Where's Maia?" Isabelle asked, her words slightly slurred as Clary walked back over to where Isabelle was dancing with an out of place looking Simon.

"She's been talking to some guy—Jordan," Clary replied as she sipped her rink and then glared over at a couple of dancers behind them who bumped into her and nearly spilled her drink. "Think she's set for the night, if you know what I mean," she wiggled her eyebrows and laughed, while Simon just rolled his eyes. "You are _far_ too sober right now," Clary pointed out as she held out her drink to Simon.

"And that's the way I'm going to keep it," Simon laughed and Clary rolled her eyes.

"So boring," Clary teased him. "Anyway, I'm gonna go see Jace."

"Yeah, one of his friends from the bar is up there with him," Simon told her as she skipped past them and headed up toward the table. She hadn't been back there since she had left to go dancing a few hours ago, and her eyebrows raised when she saw Magnus and Alec at one end of the table—clearly the girls from earlier had gotten a better offer—and even though Alec had remained relatively sober, Magnus wasn't and they were kissing. Well, not really kissing—Magnus was pawing at Alec, one hand on his ass and the other on his stomach, and Alec was looking embarassed, like he usually did when there was public displays of affection, but there was no hiding the little smile on his face. Jace was at the other end, and there was a good looking blonde guy, who looked like he was a few inches taller than her roommate, standing at the table, and his attention was utterly focussed on Jace.

"Hey!" Clary greeted them as she came over to stand in the spot between Jace and Magnus. Jace jerked slightly in his seat, looking as though he had been completely caught up in whatever he had been talking about with the blonde man.

"I blame you," Alec began, raising his eyebrow and pointing a finger at her. "For the hangover that Mags is going to have tomorrow." Clary just laughed, reaching over and playfully flicking at Alec's outstretched hand.

"Well, you'll be at work, remember, so it's not like you're going to have to deal with it," Clary pointed out.

"She has a point!" Magnus agreed, smiling over at Clary, his eyes looking a little blurred.

"And who's this?" Clary turned her attention back to Jace and his friend. She noted how close they were, Jace on one of the tall stools and his friend standing at the corner of the table, so close that their arms were brushing together every few minutes. Jace had both his hands clasped together, but it wasn't as though he was doing it out of habit or because it was comfortable, it looked as though he was trying to restrain himself from reaching out to touch the other man.

 _Interesting_ , Clary noted to herself.

"Uh, this is Sebastian," Jace said as he nodded at the man. Clary grinned widely as she reached past Jace, holding out her hand.

"Nice to meet you," Sebastian told her, reaching out her hand and shaking it. His hands were rough in hers and his grip was firm. His voice had a nice British lilt to it as well.

"How come I've never met you before?" Clary asked, tilting her head to the side as she looked back at Jace. Sebastian glanced at Jace, as though waiting for him to answer, but Jace's lips parted with no sound coming out, so Sebastian answered.

"I work a lot," he replied.

"Here?" She raised an eyebrow as she looked around.

"Sometimes," Sebastian nodded, and there was something in the way that he leaned forward, his forearms on the table, his attention on Clary, that made something spark up in Jace's stomach. He wasn't sure if it was jealousy, and if it was, he wasn't sure who was jealous of—Sebastian or Clary. He settled back, taking another long pull from his bottle of beer, noting that it was nearly empty. "I have some other security gigs as well."

"Sounds interesting," Clary said with a smile, and then her eyes shifted to Jace. As their eyes came together, Jace instantly knew that _she_ knew. She knew that there was something between him and Sebastian. He had already known that she was aware that he was seeing someone, but she hadn't said anything to him, respecting his privacy and knowing that he would talk to her about it when she was ready.

It wasn't jealousy that he was feeling, Jace realized that a moment after looking at Clary.

It felt something like guilt.

Guilt that he had brought Sebastian over when he loved Clary.

Guilt that was completely unwarranted, because it wasn't as though he had anything to be guilty about, he and Clary weren't in a relationship and he didn't owe her anything. But that didn't stop the feeling.

"I'm gonna leave you guys to it," Clary wiggled her eyebrows at Jace, and Sebastian caught her doing it and he smirked a little. "But I'll see you later." She turned to leave, and Jace knew that she was okay, that she was choosing to leave so that she wasn't intruding on their moment and giving them time alone, but this was meant to be their night celebrating her achievements.

"I'll come with you," he offered abruptly, swallowing back the last of the beer in his bottle.

"Uh, I'm going back to _dance_ ," Clary clarified with Jace. "You know—that thing that you're actually pretty good at but hate to do?" That was completely accurate. He would usually only let the girls drag him onto the dance floors after he had thrown back enough drinks to make his limbs feel loose and cloud his judgement just a little. Clary looked a bit confused as she glanced between Sebastian and Jace, because she was clearly trying to give them some space.

"Yeah, I'll come with you," Jace repeated as he put his empty beer bottle down. "You don't mind?" He asked Sebastian, even though he knew that Sebastian wasn't going to say, even if he did. But Sebastian just shrugged and motioned for him to go, still with a small smirk on his face, and it was like he was putting something together in his head. Jace took in a deep breath, wondering if he should do something before leaving Sebastian at the table—touch his shoulder, give him a quick kiss on the cheek—but he settled for a tight smile and then followed Clary. They were quickly crushed into the crowd of drunk dancers.

"You didn't have to come with me!" Clary shouted, leaning in close to Jace so that he could hear her over the loud music and the noise of people around them.

"It's your celebration! I'm celebrating!" He shouted back, even though they both knew that it was a lie, and that was clear in the way that Clary lifted her eyebrow at him. But she didn't argue as she wrapped an arm around his neck, the other going around his waist, fingers close to his ass, and swayed against his body. It was an older song playing, something that Jace remembered dancing to when he was in high school, and it had a sultry beat. Even though he didn't _like_ dancing, that didn't mean he wasn't good at it, and he and Clary had a natural rhythm when they were together, their bodies easily aligning.

Clary's body was soft and molded to his, and she let out a laugh as she danced, her head tilting back, her slender throat on display, and her long hair falling around her face. Jace licked his lips, and he hated to admit it, but he started to forget that Sebastian was there—maybe even watching. It just always got like that when Clary was involved. He got so caught up in her that everyone else faded away. She leaned in close, her breasts pressing up against his chest as she reached up so that her lips touched against the shell of his ear.

"Your boy is watching us," she murmured. Jace's body jerk as he remembered Sebastian, and he almost turned to search the crowds for him, but one of Clary's hands came up and caught his jaw, stopping him from turning his head. "He doesn't look mad," she told him. "In fact...He kind of looks into it." Jace felt that go straight to his dick, and he had to swallow hard to stop himself from reacting outwardly in any other way. Clary's voice was low and he could smell the faint scent of alcohol on her breath as she continued. "So...We can carry on dancing, maybe even get a little bit closer. Or we can stop and you can go back over to him," Clary rolled her hips in a way that she _knew_ pressed up hard against him. "Up to you." Jace tightened his arm around her waist.

"You sure he doesn't look pissed?" He asked, his neck straining with the tension to stop himself from turning around and looking for Sebastian. Clary swivelled her hips, dipping her head and then moving it so she was looking back over his shoulder for a split second before resting it against his shoulder.

"Not at all," she replied, and he felt her giggle more than saw it. "I'm actually pretty sure he just shifted his pants." That made Jace even harder.

Sebastian or Clary alone? They made him ridiculously aroused.

But the idea of the together? That was crazy.

"How long have you guys been getting it on?" Clary continued speaking in his ear. "Because it's not even fair that you've never mentioned it before? I can just imagine how fucking hot you look together." Jace's eyes widened and he could just imagine how wide his pupils were as he jerked his head back to look at her. Clary smirked up at him, as though she knew what she was doing. "Like, I obviously knew that there was someone that you were getting with—but I didn't know they were _that_ fucking attractive."

"Clary..." Jace began, his voice hoarse as he pulled back to look at her. Clary just smirked again, grinding her hips together with his.

"I bet you two look fucking gorgeous together," Clary continued, tightening her grip around his neck, one of her hands moving from his back and to the nape of his neck, tugging at the strands there. It wasn't a tight pull, but it was enough for his head to dip backwards and she knew how much he liked having his hair pulled. Almost as much as her.

"Clary..." Jace began again, and they turned, and now Jace could see Sebastian, and even from where they were standing and the dim lighting, Jace could see that Sebastian was aroused. He was staring at them with his head tipped forward slightly, and his lower lip was pulled into his mouth. He had one hand in the front pocket of the dark jeans that he was wearing and the other hand was hooked in one of the belt loops with his fingers suspiciously close to the crotch of his jeans. He stared at Sebastian, and Sebastians eyes were heated as he met his gaze. Clary rubbed up against him again and his cock pulsed in his jeans.

"Do you top? Or does he?" Clary asked and then she bit lightly at his ear and Jace's eyes squeezed shut, a tremble running through his limbs as he felt her nose against his neck. "I remember you saying that you like it when a guy tops, when he holds you down, when he makes you take—"

"Seriously, Clare," Jace groaned. "Are you trying to make me come in my pants right here?"

"Well, that would be interesting," Clary let out a laugh, and the way that her body shook with the laugh made him squeeze her tighter to his body. "But no, I would rather see you come when you're with _him_." She tipped her head backwards in the direction of Sebastian. Jace's eyes widened as he realized what she wanted and the smile on her face faded as her green eyes turned serious. "Unless...Are you guys serious? Are you serious about him?" Jace felt her slowly stop rubbing up against him as she waited for his reply.

"I don't—" Jace swallowed hard as he thought about the answer.

"If you are, then this is the part where I don't want to get in the middle," Clary told him, and she gave him another smile, but this one was far from the sexy little smirk she was giving him before, more comforting and understanding. She even put a little bit of distance between their hips, stopping the way that she had been grinding against him. "I know how you are—you're not good with the whole one off get together, your heart's too big for that." Jace had never mentioned that to her before—they had never really talked about it, _on purpose_. Mainly because he didn't want to deprive himself the chance to sleep with her again.

"I don't know what I have with him," Jace admitted, his voice so quiet he was pretty sure that Clary didn't actually hear what he said, just caught the gist from his lips. They were so close together that they still looked like every other couple on the dance floor that were trying to get in one anothers pants, but Jace could feel the difference between now and what was happening just a minute ago.

"Well...You introduced him to us, that sort of makes it seem serious," Clary pointed out.

"You introduced us to Maia," Jace replied and she just shrugged.

"But I made it pretty clear right from the start that it wasn't serious between us. You know that I don't want any of that—at least not right now," she smiled at him, not realizing that her words made his stomach clench a little. "But _you_ are different. And the way you two look at each other, _that_ seems different." Jace pursed his lips, letting his eyes slide to the side. Clary probably thought that he was looking toward Sebastian, but in all honesty, he just needed to look away from Clary.

It had been years that he had felt something for her. It hadn't been love, not for a long time—that had actually been reasonably recent, when he had had this weird thought about having kids with her. But there had always been _something_.

However, other than the couple of times that they had slept together—which had all been times when they were drunk, the first time they had barely even known each other—Clary had never indicated that she had those same feelings for him. Admittedly, he had never _told_ her how he felt, but on more than one occasion, Clary had talked about how she wasn't ready for a relationship. He knew that it was to do with her mum, and her dad, and then there was some boyfriend before they had met, but it didn't stop it from hurting.

"Actually, I think maybe you're right," Jace found himself saying as he looked back at Clary. Her eyes lit up and there was a wide smile on her face.

"Oh my god, seriously?! That's awesome!" She tightened her arms around him in a hug. "Then _go be with him_. Go have fun! I'm gonna see if Maia and her man have left yet," she wiggled her eyebrows at him as she let her arms fall to her side. Just as she was about to back away, she called out. "Let me know if he's ever down for having a voyer," she grinned widely, looking so pretty that it made Jace's heart hurt. "Because taking photos of you two would be _so fucking hot_ ," she let out a laugh as she waved quickly at him and then disappeared. Jace stared at the space that she had slipped through for a long moment, and it was quickly filled with other dancing people, all laughing and having a good time.

Then he turned, searching for Sebastian and heading in his direction once he had found him.

 _So! My song recommendations this time are_ Help Me Close My Eyes _by Those Dancing Days,_ Burn So Bright _by Bella Thorne and_ Broken Prayers _by Riley Clemmons. Ooh—and_ I Wanna Know _by Bea Miller. Shit, I love most things by Bea, she's bloody amazing, and I've had this song on repeat, for like the past two months. Haha. Oh, and_ Go Dark _by Cassie Steele! It took me a while to get into this one, but I adore it now. Ooh ooh! And_ Lie _by Halsey featuring Quavo. Fucking looove it. Although let's face it, I love everything by her. Omg! And also_ What I Need _by Hayley Kiyoko featuring Kehlani. I've only recently gotten into Kehlani, since I saw her open for Halsey, but I adore Hayley, and I'm so glad she's becoming more popular. This video has just come out and its amaaazing._

 _In other news...The second season of_ Queer Eye _is almost out! Whoop whoop! I bloody love them all, and I cried in every single episode of the first season. Antoni is just bloody beautiful, and Tan and Karamo...Omfg. Gorgeous. And then Bobby is so talented and Jonathan is amazing. Haha. I recommend to all! Also, has everyone seen the new_ Robin Hood _trailer? I love Taron Egerton, can't wait for the movie!_

 _I've starting dabbling in oneshots again. I generally post them all at one time, when I've got chance to come back and edit them all properly, but I'm taking requests if you want to see them through. Doesn't have to specifically be this fandom, go onto my profile and check out other fandoms I'm in or send me a message. Send through songs or ideas and I can try to make them work!_

 _Lastly, I keep meaning to pimp out the amaaazing reppinda5o3, who I absolutely adore. First of all she's got this amazing trilogy that is currently on it's second installment, first one called_ Send My Love (To Your New Lover) _and the second is called_ Hello _. Then there's her latest story and I've fallen in love and we're just one chapter deep,_ Set Fire To The Rain _. And then her baby,_ Clarissa Is A Punk _, which is an angsty ride, but I trust her to get us there in the end! Go and check them out and show her some love. She's ridiculously busy, but she still finds time to write, and her detail and care in her writing is insane, and also listen to me with my one million ideas and was also one of the people to keep me sane when I was house bound for a few months. Including keeping my company literally as I'm typing this because I'm home sick. So go. Go, go, go, go, go!_

 _Send me your recommendations, send me your thoughts on the story, send me anything and I will reply when I can! Let me know if you want a preview xxx_


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey guys._

 _Okay. So..._

 _This is a bit weird, but I thought I should probably post something._

 _I've had a few messages from people, and I've replied to a couple of them, but I guess it would be more fair to post this for everyone to see._

 _I'm just taking a bit of a break from here. I've got a lot going on at the moment; my heads a bit of a mess, my relationship needs work, my job is going through a a lot of changes which is stressful and honestly I'm just not doing too great. Usually writing is my outlet but I've been really stumped lately. I've managed to write a few oneshots but I'm just not happy with them and I just_ can't _write. I open up word documents like every night and just can't get anything out, and when I finally do, I'm not happy with what I do. Over the past six weeks or so I've gotten some shitty reviews which are always from anon's because why would they log in to leave feedback and have a conversation about it? I delete them because I'm one of those people who just re-read and re-read them and obsess over them and it just isn't a great time! So maybe that's got something to do with how..._ Not _like writing I feel._

 _I'm posting this on all of my stories, even the ones I don't update regularly, because I'm not sure how long it'll be before I update. I'm going to try get around to all the reviews I haven't replied to and the messages that are piled up in my inbox, and I_ _hope I'll snap out of my funk soon and then it'll be back to normal :)_

 _I love you guys, 99% of you are absolutely amazing and you're so supportive and patient with me, and I want to say thank you for that x_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey, beautiful people!_

 _I'm back! You guys have all been beautiful and I appreciate all of your kind words. I'm feeling a lot better, although, as anyone suffering from anxiety, depression and any other lovely mental health issues, I'm taking one day at a time. Still feeling a little...Iffy, but hey. That's life._

 _We're coming up to the end of the year and I always take a couple of months off over Christmas/New Years. So what I'm going to do is update all my stories at the beginning of each month until I go on a break over December/January and then I'll go back to a regular schedule with two monthly updates._

 _Also, a few of you guys tried to help out and suggested maybe if I didn't write so many stories, I wouldn't get overwhelmed. I absolutely love that you guys are trying to help, but the amount of stories isn't the problem. My problems are outside of this little fandom world I try to bury myself in, and the thing that was making it difficult for me to enjoy posting and updating and interacting with you guys was because of a few nasty reviews that just really hit when I was feeling pretty damn shit. So, thank you! But it's okay, I manage sharing out my time on each story well, since I get inspired for different stories all the time and bounce all over the place!_

 _Anyway, on with the story..._

"Did you want to come in?" Jace asked, looking over at Sebastian. It was just after nine in the morning and after spending the rest of the night —or more correctly, morning, since it was after two in the morning before they left the club —he had gone back to Sebastian's loft. They had shared a bong and then fallen asleep without doing anything else. Jace had woken up only about half an hour ago and hadn't been surprised that Sebastian was already awake. Sebastian seemed to have a pretty strict body clock that didn't let up, no matter what time they went to sleep. Jace had gotten dressed into some of Sebastian's clothes, which were a bit loose around his shoulders and a bit short around his ankles, and they were going to go out for breakfast after Jace went home, showered and changed. Usually, Jace would have just showered at Sebastian's place, but he wanted a fresh change of clothes before they went out, and it was on the way to the cafe they were going to anyway.

"Yeah," Sebastian shrugged, and it looked as though he had already planned on coming in anyway. Jace lead the way up the cobbled footpath, Sebastian close behind him, and he pulled his keys and wallet out of the pocket of the sweatpants he was in and unlocked the front door.

He loved the house that he and Clary shared.

He wouldn't be able to afford the place on his own, and neither would Clary, if they had to pay market price. She really wasn't a fan of her dad, had never really had anything to do with him. He had died while they were away at University and she had come back for the funeral, but hadn't really talked about it. She didn't seem too upset by it, but he wasn't a subject that Clary liked to broach, so Jace didn't ask.

The house was quite modern, made of dark wood and glass, with a flat roof that had solid fencing around it. It was only one storied but there were steps at the back of the house that lead up to the roof, where they had put a table and chairs and Clary would often sunbathe, Isabelle and Maia joining her when they were over. There was a high brick fence that sheltered the property from onlookers and a couple of tall trees that also provided privacy. Despite the modern look and the way it could possibly have an impersonal feel to it, as soon as you stepped inside, it felt warm. There were colourful paintings and photographs on the wall —some of Clary's professional ones as well as ones of their friends —and the furniture was all colourful and fun. Jace wasn't a big fan of all the froofy things, like the different sized pillows, but he had to admit that they were comfortable to fall asleep on.

"Did you want me to make you a coffee or something?" Jace asked. "While I'm in the shower?" There was a glint in Sebastian's eye and something in his smirk that suggested he would prefer to join Jace in the shower, but Jace was smart enough to know that they would never make it to the cafe if they both got into the shower.

"Just show me where the coffee maker is and I can make it myself," Sebastian replied and Jace nodded. They went into the kitchen and Jace showed him where everything was. He was turning to go back to the hall and down to the bathroom when Sebastian caught his hand and tugged him into him. Jace grinned as their mouths came together, his free hand coming up to cup Sebastian's hand, fingers pressing into his short hair. The feel of Sebastian's tongue was enough to make him forget where he was, muchless anyone around them, and he was confused when Sebastian pulled back and looked pointedly over Jace's shoulder. Jace turned around and saw Clary standing there, in a tiny pair of sleeping shorts and a singlet without a bra underneath.

"Shit," Jace muttered. "What are you doing here?" The question came out a bit more rudely than intended but Clary just snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Um, I live here, remember?" She told him jokingly as she came into the kitchen and ducked around the two men to go to the fridge. She opened it up and pulled out a bottle of chilled water before closing it with a nudge of her hip. She looked between the two of them and there was a smirk on her face. "Well, don't stop on my account. I'm more than happy to watch." Sebastian snorted while Jace's face just flared a red.

"Uh," Jace swallowed hard. "I didn't mean it like that, I just —I thought that maybe you would have gone home with Maia last night, or someone else..." Clary met his gaze and raised an eyebrow at that. She didn't look quite as playful as she had before, and Jace guessed that he had just kind of implied that she usually went home with someone after a night of drinking. Sebastian seemed to pick up in the shift of mood in the room and he cleared his throat.

"Jace was just going to shower and change and then we were going to go out for breakfast. Did you want to come?" Sebastian invited and Clary pursed her lips for a moment.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"You'll want to come," Jace gave her a small smile. "We're going to _Talking Birds_." It was a bit more expensive than other places, but the food was always incredible and the coffee was to die for. It was one of Clary's favourite places to go for breakfast and from the way her eyes lit up, he knew that she wanted to come with them.

"Are you sure I won't be intruding?" She asked, waving her finger between them.

"Intruding on what?" Jace asked at the same time that Sebastian stated,

"No." The two men exchanged a look that Clary politely decided to ignore.

"Alright, I'll get changed," she flashed them a smile as she left the kitchen, her water bottle still in her hand. Jace looked over at Sebastian who's eyes were on his lover, not looking after the redhead who had just walked by them.

"You alright?" Sebastian asked with a raise of his eyebrows.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Jace asked, although his words were a bit more smushed together than he planned on. Sebastian obviously didn't believe him but he nodded.

"I'll make a coffee then," he said. "Don't rush." Jace nodded and jerkily left the room. He didn't know _why_ Sebastian and Clary in the same room together put him on edge. Clary was his best friend and Sebastian was a good friend —a lover —and he trusted both of them not to cause too much friction when they were together? Why _would_ there be any tension? At best, it was all in his head and at worse, it was him that interjected the tension when they were all together.

He was imagining it, Jace grumbled to himself. They had met twice and they had both been completely friendly to each other. It was just him, because of the way he felt about both of them.

Jace grabbed a towel from the hallway closet and went into the bathroom. As usual, there was a thong on the ground, and also the dress that Clary had worn last night. He rolled his eyes long sufferingly as he picked them both up and carefully slung them over the warming rack, knowing that she would come back in here at some point looking for them. One of the big differences between them was that Clary had absolutely no problem with mess, while Jace loathed it. Sometimes she would loose things for days in her room, whereas Jace's room was as neat as a pin.

Jace showered quickly and brushed his teeth, not bothering to shave. He went into his bedroom and changed into a pair of jeans, a slim fitting henley and then went out to the kitchen, swallowing tightly as he came around the corner and saw Sebastian and Clary together. Clary was sitting on the bench —a habit that Jace knew she was never going to break —and she was smiling widely at Sebastian, who was talking. She looked past Sebastian when she noticed Jace and her grin widened even more.

"Wait —so Sebastian had to throw you out of a club once? I didn't even know you'd ever _been_ thrown out!" She laughed and Sebastian chuckled with her.

"It wasn't —it wasn't _my_ fault," Jace protested.

"That's what I said," Clary grinned at him, kicking her heels lightly against the cupboard beneath the bench. "You're too much of a goody-good to get thrown out of a club for being to drunk or something."

"I'm not a goody-good!" Jace exclaimed as he came over to where the two were, Sebastian standing almost directly in front of Clary and Jace leaning his hip against the bench, beside Clary.

"You are too—you and Alec," Clary grinned as she tossed an arm around his shoulder and pulled him in for a quick kiss on the cheek. "But that's okay, that's why I love you guys." Sebastian watched the exchange between them —the comfortable way that they touched each other —and there wasn't any jealousy in his eyes as Jace put his arm around Clary's waist and easily hauled her off the counter.

"Come on, let's get out of here. I'm starving," he said. He seemed a bit more comfortable than he had before, and Sebastian hoped that it was because he had gotten over whatever had bothered him when they had first come into the kitchen. Jace locked the house up while Clary skipped ahead of the two guys, the dress she was wearing flicking up around her thighs a couple of times. Jace followed after her and he couldn't help his smile. With her hair in two french braids and the baby blue dress that she was wearing, she didn't look much older than eighteen, and it was difficult to imagine that she had worked for the past three years in the porn industries, taking photos of naked men and women with a completely straight face. But then she spun around and smiled at both men with those full, pink lips of hers and Jace remembered where that mouth had been, and it really wasn't that hard to visualize.

"I call shot gun," she announced as she got to the car first.

"Hey!" Jace protested as Sebastian snorted out a laugh.

"You got to sleep with—" Clary waved a hand up and down Sebastian. "—All of that. I'm pretty sure I'm getting the worse off deal with the better seat." Sebastian didn't bother just snorting this time and Jace made a face at him, although he couldn't smother his full smile.

"She's got you there," Sebastian pointed out. "You did get to sleep with—" he did an exaggerated finger wave down his body, teasing the redhead. "— _All of this_. I feel like we need to take pity on the deprived girl and give her shot gun." Sebastian was _teasing_. Jace had never really heard Sebastian do that. Jace didn't know what to say, so he waited for Sebastian to unlock the car and then got into the backseat. Nirvana was playing on the radio and Clary wound her window down, letting her hand hang out the window and catch the wind as they drove to the cafe.

The parking lot of the cafe was busy, which was to be expected, but the seating for the place was a lot larger than it looked from the outside. Clary lead the way inside, smiling widely at the girl behind the counter who gave them menus and pointed them out the back, saying that there were some empty seats out there. Jace sat down on one side and Clary slid into the seat opposite him, stretching out her legs underneath the table. Sebastian took the place next to Jace and picked up the menu. After a few moments, he seemed to realize that Clary and Jace weren't looking at their menus.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, his eyes flicking between them.

"Nope," Clary shook her head, braids whipping from side to side.

"We just come here enough we already know what we want," Jace answered with a grin. Sebastian laughed under his breath as he went back to looking at the menu. Clary leaned back in her seat and looked between the two of them. Sebastian missed the looks that were exchanged and the way that Jace's eyes widened pointedly as Clary grinned and nodded at Sebastian. It was a teasing look that made Jace's stomach squeeze.

As if he could ever really hide anything from Clary.

Maybe Jace hadn't quite admitted to himself that he and Sebastian were doing something more than sleeping together, Clary could obviously see right through it. And from the way that she was wiggling her eyebrows and making funny faces at him, it seemed as though she approved, and he really didn't know if that made things better or worse.

He had dated a couple of people in the time that he had known —and had pretty damn strong feelings for —Clary. There had been three girls and a guy, and they had all been quite short-lived romances. He always founds something about them that got on his nerves or that just didn't sit right, and he didn't like to think it, even to himself, but he knew it was because he was comparing the with the way he felt with Clary. She had always been supportive of his romances, all except for one girl, Dalia, who had turned out to be complete bitch, so he guessed he could give her a pass on this one.

But it was clear that she approved of Sebastian.

He didn't know how he felt about that.

"Okay, I know what I want," Sebastian stated and Clary flickered her eyes over to him and began to smile when she saw the way he was looking at her over the top of his menu. He didn't try to hide the way he was staring, dark eyes heated and intense, as though he could see exactly what she was thinking, and it made her shift in her seat. She was about to open her mouth to —to say _something_ —when one of the waitresses came over with a bright smile.

"Hi! Are you guys ready to order or did you need a few more minutes?" She asked in a perky voice that Jace wasn't sure _how_ she could muster at this time of morning. Although, to be fair, it was getting closer to midday now, so he guessed that it was just because he had gone to bed so late that he was still feeling half asleep.

"No, we're ready," Sebastian said, his voice even and deep, and Jace blinked as he looked over at Sebastian, as though pulled from whatever thoughts he was stuck in while staring across at Clary. There was something that had been exchanged between the two of them that he had missed and he wondered what it was before Clary started talking, giving her order over to the waitress. Sebastian went next and then Jace, and she smiled widely at them before walking off.

"So," Clary pursed her lips playfully as she looked between the two of them. "Did you two have fun last night after you left the club?" Jace rolled his eyes at his friend while Sebastian's lips tugged upward in a smirk. "You were pretty hot and bothered when we were dancing," she wiggled her eyebrows at Jace and he pulled the fingers at her, while Sebastian just let out a chuckle under her breath.

"I noticed that," Sebastian said quietly and Jace's eyebrows rose. Sure, he'd caught Sebastian's eyes while he and Clary were dancing, and he had been pretty sure there was heat there, but when he had gone over to join him, he hadn't said anything about it.

"Did Jace tell you what I do?" She asked with a tilt of her head and Sebastian lifted an eyebrow in question. "For a living."

"Yeah," Sebastian nodded, and then he stretched out his arm over the back of Jace's chair. It wasn't a possessive move, exactly, it just looked as though he was stretching out, but Jace quite liked the feel of Sebastian's arm against his back. Clary watched the movement as well, before focusing back on Sebastian. "Photographer. And a damn good one as well, given how proud Jace is of you."

"Did he tell you that I'd like the photograph the two of you together?" Clary continued and Jace nearly choked on his breath as he realized how blatantly she had said that and glared across the table.

"Clary!" He hissed and she giggled. Sebastian didn't look put off or offended by what she had said. In fact, he looked a little curious.

"Have _you_ ever been photographed?" He asked.

"In my life? Of course," she grinned at him.

"You know what I mean," Sebastian replied. "Has anyone photographed you, either by yourself or with someone?" Clary's smile faded a little and she pulled her lower lip into her mouth. Jace watched the movement and he recognized it well.

She was aroused.

"Because that would be hot," Sebastian smirked, glancing between Clary and Jace. Clary's eyes widened and Jace's expression was similar to hers. Jace also found it a little funny, that Sebastian had managed to catch her off guard, but mainly he was just interested. Interested and turned on. "Maybe that's something that we can try out sometime." Clary's green eyes widened even more but then the waitress came over with their drinks and it broke the moment.

 _Okay! I have so many recommendations, so I apologize in advance for how long this is going to be._

 _Songs!_ Back To You _by Selena Gomez. Holy shit. Words can't even express how much I love this song. Like...My heart, every time...Shit. Yes. And all the fandom videos to this song on Youtube, I'm just loving all of them, they're just incredible. Then there's_ Somethin' We Shouldn't Do _by Chad Brownlee,_ Bad Company _by Five Finger Death Punch,_ Higher _by The Score,_ Panic Attacks _by Elohim and then_ I Said Hi, Mess Her Up _and_ Middle of the Night _by Amy Shark. I've become completely obsessed with Amy Shark. Haha. Then there's also_ Sober _by Demi Lovato...Which does all sorts of different things to my heart now, than Back To You. After her recent relapse, I get a little teary when listening to it..._

 _So movie/TV series wise..._ Alex Strangelove _\- It's quirky and awkward and fucking hilarious and it made me so happy. All of the characters are just so beautiful and well-written and realistic. It's a bit weird, I absolutely cringed a few times and definitely has some areas it could improve on, but if I'm being totally honest...I think it may actually be in like my top twenty movies. It just made me feel so good. My hubby loved it as well. And then there's_ Jane The Virgin _, which we're slowly getting through. My husband is firmly Team Raphael while I'm firmly Team Michael...Now that he's back, I have high hopes. LOL. Also I've recently gotten into_ Reign _, and I'm in love._

 _Also, is anyone else watching_ Who Is America _? Holy shit. It makes me cringe to the point where I hide my face in a pillow, but it's hilarious and chilling and I recommend to all._

 _Anyway, let me know if you guys have any recommendations. Leave a review, let me know what you think, because your reviews mean so much to me xx_


	7. Chapter 7

_Hey, beautiful people! Here's the next chapter. I also have another Sebclace story,_ Maybe If The Stars Align _, so make sure you check that one out as well._ _Also_ — _I've got Pink's concert next weekend! She's going to be fucking amazing!_

Jace straightened up in his seat, arching his backwards and stretching his arms above his head. He heard his back click a few times and he winced as he turned his head from side to side, and then slumped back in his seat. He had been going through the clips that he had shot for a new travel advertisement that was going to be used nationally. Technically he was commissioned by a travel agency to do it, but they were in partnership with a major airline, and it was going to be used in all of their flights as part of the adverts that came on before the in flight movie.

It needed to be perfect, because if he nailed this, then he should be able to have enough money and get enough publicity to be able to stop with the porn gig that he had going on. It wasn't that he didn't like his work there, it had been fun, there were definitely perks, and when he had been going through university, he had definitely be the point of jealousy for a lot of his peers.

But it really wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

It was good money, but he needed more from his career now.

"Honey! I'm _home_!" Clary sung out as she opened the front door and stepped inside. Jace rolled his eyes from where he was sitting in the kitchen, but there was a grin on his face as he heard her kick off her shoes and shut the front door. He knew that her shoes were going to be splayed out on the wooden floor, not bothering to line them up on the shoe rack that she had brought after she had gotten sick of Jace complaining about her messily dropping her shoes on the ground and not bothering to move them out of the doorway. He had tripped over them on countless occasions, and he knew that he was going to trip over them countless more. It was there thing, and he was okay with it, no matter how much he bitched about it. "Ooh, whatchya working on?" Clary dropped her bag on the floor carelessly, but then very carefully put her camera bag on the kitchen counter top, and came over to where Jace was sitting at the kitchen table.

"Just something that I'm hoping is gonna turn out half as good I hope it does, and it's going to be okay," Jace replied. Clary rolled her eyes at Jace's words as she rested her elbows on his shoulders and looked down at the laptop in front of him which was playing a scene that he shot down at a private beach by a resort.

"Why do you act like you're not incredible at what you do?" She asked in a teasing, chiding tone. "Because you _are_."

"Just because you've got an talent for finding the beauty in everything, doesn't mean the rest of us do as well," Jace told her, tilting his head backwards to look up at her with a playful smile on his face. But Clary's smile dropped and her eyebrows pulled together and she shook her head at him.

"You're good at what you do, Jace. Don't just brush it off," she told him earnestly as she looked down at him, and he could see the seriousness in her face, even from their awkward position where she was standing over him and looking down at him from behind and Jace sitting down and tipping his head to look up at her. But even from the upside down angle, she was still the most beautiful girl that Jace had ever seen, and the soft sincerity in her eyes made his heart thud in his chest.

It made it harder to give her a crooked smile and pull away from her, lowering his head so he was looking back at the laptop, to where he was filming a girl in a bikini who was blowing a kiss at the camera. Clary ruffled his hair and then turned to go back into the adjoining kitchen.

"Are you gonna be here for dinner? Want me to make chilli?" She asked as she opened up the fridge door.

"Where else would I be for dinner?" Jace asked, tapping his fingers over the screen, saving the footage that he had already edited before shutting his laptop and getting up from his seat.

"I don't know," Clary ducked her head out from around the fridge door and smirked at Jace. "With Sebastian?"

"We're not..." Jace paused and cleared his throat. "We're not dating."

"You might not be _exclusive_ , but I definitely get the vibe that you're at least _dating_ ," Clary replied. "I mean, I know I've only just met him, but I've _known_ that you were seeing someone for a while now, and after meeting him and seeing you guys together?" Clary took out a wine bottle from the fridge and closed the door, walking over to the bench and unscrewing the lid. "I can tell that you guys are totally into each other! I mean, the way that he was looking at you at the club?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "It looked as though he was about ten seconds away from ripping your clothes off."

Yeah.

Sebastian had definitely been horny after they had gone back to his place after the club.

To be fair, so was Jace.

He had all these images of the three of them twined together after Clary's teasing and brushing up against him.

It was never going to happen and even if it _did_ , he didn't doubt for a second that it would just mess up his head even more than it was now, so he needed to just put them all out of his head.

"Jace?" Clary had poured herself a glass of wine and was looking at him expectantly.

"Uh, yeah," Jace blinked at her, clearing his head. "I don't know, I guess we're just taking it slow?" They had never discussed what they were or what they wanted from each other, and Jace _really_ didn't want to talk about that with Clary, even though she was his best friend. She also happened to be the girl that he was trying to get over being in love with, and that really complicated things.

"Okay," Clary gave him a small smile, not asking him anything further. "So you're going to be home then?"

"Not going anywhere—especially if you're cooking chilli," he gave her a smile that he hoped come off as easy, because if she caught that there was something wrong, she was going to ask questions that he wasn't quite ready to answer. He wasn't ready to answer them to _himself_ muchless anyone else.

"Alright," Clary nodded. "I'll get it all started so that it can simmer while I shower. You want to figure out what we're watching? I feel like a movie." Jace nodded as he walked into the lounge.

It was strange how one room could evoke such powerful emotions.

The lounge was nothing like the one he had grown up with or the one at the apartment that he had lived in with two roommates when he was at University. It was _definitely_ nothing like the pit that had been a public area in the dorm rooms in his first year of university. It was colourful and full of life—maybe a little _too_ colourful for Jace's liking, given the bright cushions that were strewn across the long, L shaped couch and the two arm chairs, a fluffy purple throw over the back of one of the arm chairs. There was a blown up photograph on the wall above the fire place that Clary had taken last year of a field of poppies. There were so many photos and random knick knacks in the room, Jace in a lot of the pictures, Clary in most of them as well. There was one with just the two of them together, taken a few years ago, when they were drunk after they graduated. Clary had jumped on Jace's back, arms wrapped around his neck, holding him tightly, and Jace was laughing, his head thrown back.

The room just reminded him of everything that Jace had, now that Clary was in his life.

He had grown up in a house that was in a good neighbourhood, and it had been a nice house, but it had been cold. His father, Stephen Herondale, had left them when Jace was ten, and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He barely had any good memories of his father, the only things he really remembered was getting smacked around if he left his plate on the bench, or his shoes in the middle of the hallway, or his jersey on the couch. His mother, Celine Herondale, had never wanted kids, he had just been something that his father had apparently wanted, even though he had thrown him away like trash when he had gotten bored. Celine had pretty much let Jace do whatever he wanted, as long as he stayed out of her way and didn't make a mess—of the house _and_ of her life.

There had never been photos and colour in the house.

It was all neat as a pin, not a thing out of place, looking like something in one of those show homes.

But where he was living now, it was nothing like that.

When he had first moved in with Clary, it had been a bit awkward, because while they had a history and they were friends, but they hadn't slipped into that completely comfortable relationship where they could just co-exist with one another. Originally, Alec had lived with them as well, although he had only been there for six months before he officially moved in Magnus. He had barely been there, and so it had just been Clary and Jace most of the time.

The way they lived was very different from each other—Clary was a colourful, almost psychotic mess and Jace liked everything in a clean and orderly fashion. They had clashed quite a bit to begin with, arguing about petty things like whose turn it was to do the dishes and the washing, and about Clary leaving shoes and clothes strewn around the house, and about her photography equipment in random places, and Jace having to line up their shoes in a perfect order every time he came into the house.

They made it work.

It took a while, but they made it work.

Clary cleaned up a bit better after herself while Jace loosened up a bit.

Alec and Isabelle had been the only thing that kept him sane when he was growing up, he spent most of his time at the Lightwoods. When he had moved into the dorms, he had made friends easily with his roommate and the guys in his building, but none of it was particularly lasting stuff. Even his flat mates when he moved out of his dorm and into an apartment, they were great, and they helped him adjust to living with other people, but it wasn't like with Clary.

She was like Alec and Isabelle, and she made sure he was living a life that he _loved_.

Which was another reason Jace knew that nothing serious could happen between them.

Or, nothing _romantic_.

Because he would be completely lost without her in his life.

"Jace?" Clary was giving him a confused look, so she must have said his name a couple of times before. Jace turned and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Jace told her, giving her a half smile. Clary stared at him for a moment before closing the gap between them, coming over to stand next to him and putting her arms around his waist. She was tiny compared to him, but her warmth felt like it surrounded all of him. She tipped her head back so that she was looking up at him, her green eyes expressive.

"You've been kind of weird lately," she noted, tightening her grip around his waist, hands slipping slightly so that they were latched at his lower back. "Not necessarily a bad-weird, just different. I think it's because of Sebastian."

"No— _what_? I haven't been—I haven't been acting weird," Jace stammered out, one of his arms going around Clary in an almost automatic gesture, his hand resting against her lower back.

"Yeah," she arched an eyebrow at him and snorted. "Right." Jace rolled his eyes. "Look, it's totally cool. I know that you're not into the whole 'talking about your feelings' thing. I mean, you're better than Alec—I've got no idea how Magnus manages to wheedle in there underneath that hard shell of his—but we've never really talked about any of your girlfriends or boyfriends." Clary pursed her lips together and tilted her head to the side, and her eyes seemed to get even bigger and Jace couldn't help but tilt his head to the side to match hers. "Or about if there's anything else on your mind..."

"Do we have to get into this right now?" Jace asked with a clench of his teeth. He wasn't angry, he just felt awkward at the way she was looking at him.

"No, we don't," Clary shook her head and smiled easily, giving him another squeeze. "I just want you to be happy, Jace." Jace stared down at her and he felt his heart beat harder in his chest before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to the tip of her nose. Clary's smile grew and her cheeks were pink and she closed her eyes before leaning forward and resting her head against his chest.

He wanted to kiss her on the mouth.

He wanted to pick her up and hug her tighter, so that their bodies were melding together, because when they were properly together, that was when everything felt good.

 _But it was starting to feel the same with Sebastian._

"I was asking if you wanted to watch _Snatch_?" Clary said and her grip on his waist loosened.

" _Snatch_?" Jace asked with a half grin. "You don't want to watch some rom-com shit?"

"Hey, if you're offering, we can totally watch _Raising Helen_ or _10 Things I Hate About You_ ," Clary grinned playfully at him, and Jace was so grateful for the way she could just flip the mood so easily. She knew that he wasn't ready to talk about whatever it was that he and Sebastian had, she knew that he wasn't ready to talk about what was going on in his head, but she had still reached out to him and let him know that she was there when he was ready to talk. "I am _completely_ down for that."

"I'm gonna go with _Snatch_ ," Jace said with a thoughtful nod and Clary laughed.

"I thought so," she stated. "I could do with some Jason Statham and Brad Pitt in my life."

"You craving some muscle in your life?" Jace snorted. "Maia will be crushed."

"I'll have you know that Maia is perfect just the way she is," Clary shot back with a grin. "Besides, you know I'm not...I don't know, _dating_ her or anything. Maia is totally cool with that. She knows I'm seeing other people." Jace raised an eyebrow at that. He knew that Clary and Maia weren't exclusive, he definitely knew that they weren't dating, but he _didn't_ know that Clary was actually actively seeing other people.

"You're seeing other people?" Jace asked, hoping to keep his voice even.

"Just casually, you know I don't date," Clary shrugged as she headed back into the kitchen. "Anyway, I think we've talked about our dating lives enough. Unless you're willing to divulge all the dark and dirty secrets of you and Sebastian's love affair—" she wiggled her finger at him and Jace rolled his eyes at her, unable to hold back his grin. "Then I'm ready to move onto another topic. When is your recording due in?"

"Beginning of next week," Jace replied, scrunching up his nose as he followed her into the kitchen.

"Are you on track to have it done?" Clary asked as she began pulling things out of the fridge.

"Yeah, it'll be fine," he made a face. "Honestly this isn't much of a step up conversation wise, this is just gonna stress me out," he made another face and Clary hummed under her breath.

"Alright—well, I was thinking this weekend, we should go out," Clary easily switched again, knowing what Jace needed. "I'm thinking dinner and drinks—drag Alec out on one of the nights where he's not going to be working the next day so he can actually drink and get all crazy. I love it when Alec gets drunk," she smirked and Jace laughed as she began peeling an onion.

"I love it when Alec gets drunk _and_ he's under the influence of Magnus," Jace added with a grin. " _That's_ something I always look forward to seeing."

 _Now, my first thing is a Youtube video. It's only a couple of minutes, but it is absolutely fucking beautiful, my heart just...Shit. Anyway. Watch it. It's called_ Homophobia In 2018 | Time For Love _on the channel BBC Social. Please watch it. It's just a few minutes, just a tiny bit of your day, but it's just incredible._

 _Okay! So I have so many songs! Okay, so_ Afterlife _by XYLO. And then_ 1950 _and_ Talia _by King Princess—also, I heard that she and Amanda Stenburg are dating? Not sure if that's true, but damn cute couple if they are. Then there's_ Wild Love _by James Bay. The music video for this is absolutely amazing, Natalia looks fucking heavenly. I can't get over that song. Then there's_ Skydiving, Saviour _and_ We Were Here _by Lights. And then an older one,_ Life After You _, by Daughtry._ And What's Love Got To Do With It _, the cover by Prides, which I heard in_ Dynasty _and fell in love with._

Cloak and Dagger _has recently finished and it was amazing, and you should all definitely be watching it. There's also the show_ Castle Rock _that we've just started with Bill Skaarsgard, and I'll watch anything with him in it. Movie wise, we've recently watched_ Game Night _and_ Stronger _, which were both really good. We're September now and there's so many new seasons of my shows starting! What ones are you guys looking forward to?_

 _As a closing note, is anyone else keeping up with all this Jeffree Star drama and his ex-friends? I'm finding all of it hilarious. Me and one my best friends are in love with it all. Haha. Oh—and 21/08/2018 was apparently Fanfiction Appreciation Day! So, happy...That? Haha._

 _OMG—and everyone should watch_ Crazy Rich Asians _. I fucking loved it._

 _Let me know what you thought of the story, let me know if you want a preview of the next chapter x_


	8. Chapter 8

Clary felt a shudder run through her body, her legs jerking as an orgasm built in her stomach and began travelling through her limbs. She tried to concentrate on what she was doing, circling her tongue around Maia's clit and pressing a finger inside her, but as her third orgasm of the evening crashed over her, her movements became sloppy and Maia was impatient, practically riding her face. Clary loved the way her senses were completely overwhelmed—the sweet, heady scent of Maia in her nose and the syrupy taste of her on her tongue. Then there was the way that Jordan Kyle was sucking on her clit and pressing two fingers into her ass which were rubbing at the thin membrane that separated his fingers from her g-spot. He knew what he was doing and it had been a long time since she had fooled around with a guy, and so his thick, rough fingers felt incredible inside her.

"C'mon, Clary," Maia was panting as she jerked her hips forward and Clary knew that the dark haired girl had her hands braced on the wall above her to give herself help as she searched for friction on Clary's face. Clary attempted to keep a rhythm with her fingers but then Jordan pushed two fingers into her pussy and her whole body jolted upward as another orgasm ripped through.

" _Fuck_!" Clary cried out, her words muffled against Maia's thigh. She bit down on the tender flesh and Maia let out a squeak, probably partly in pain, but the way that she had jolted had shoved her fingers even deeper into the woman, and so there was definitely pleasure in there as well. She forced herself to loosen her grip with her teeth in Maia's leg, and as she did, she pressed her thumb down on Maia's clit. Jordan's fingers slipped out of her, and she could feel her juices spilling out, along with some lube, mixing together on her thighs and onto the sheet below her.

"God, you two are beautiful," Jordan growled out, and Clary could feel him moving above her. He moved to straddle her and Clary knew that it was to get closer to Maia, which she didn't mind. There were movements above Clary which she just let happen because she was taking in a few deep breaths to calm herself back down after the orgasms she just had. She blinked as Maia began moving down, and Clary realized that Jordan was re-positioning Maia further down Clary's body.

"Shit," Maia let out a huff of laughter as she was moved down so she was hip to hip with Clary and their eyes met. "You're a mess," she stated breathlessly. She steadied herself on her knees, pressing them against Clary's hips, and one hand beside Clary's head on the pillow. She lifted her thumb and rubbed it against Clary's lips, wiping them of her juices before dipping her head forward to kiss her on the mouth. Clary responded in kind, this time able to concentrate on Maia without Jordan distracting her. She nipped at Maia's lower lip and lifted her hands to cover her breasts. Maia moaned into her mouth and Clary pinched at her nipples and then felt the girl over her jolted forward and there was pressure against her legs.

Clary heard grunts coming from Jordan, and from the way Maia was pressing down on her, she knew that Jordan was pushing into Maia from the way their bodies were rhythmically meeting Clary's, and she could feel Maia's short pubic hair grazing over her lower stomach. In the end, Maia was just breathing heavily against Clary's lips and the redhead settled for resting her hands on Maia's hips.

Afterwards, Clary wriggled herself over to the side of the bed since it became quickly obvious that Jordan was a cuddler after sex. Clary didn't really mind it, but she preferred it with people that she at least knew. She really didn't know anything about Jordan since about an hour and a half ago when she had come over to Maia's apartment. Maia seemed a lot more into it though, and they actually ended up falling asleep. Clary was falling in and out of the lull of sleep when she heard a phone buzzing. She blinked a few times, looking blearily down at the bunch of clothes on the ground. She looked over at Maia and Jordan who were still fast asleep and then sighed under her breath. The buzzing continued for another few seconds and then stopped.

Then it started again.

Clary grumbled under her breath and rolled herself over, stretching out her arm to grab for any of the clothes she could reach and pulling them over to herself. The buzzing got closer and closer to her and she found her jeans and fumbled to pull out her phone. Jace's name was displaying on the screen and she sighed as she looked at the top of the screen where it said that it was almost midnight. She was about to swipe her thumb over the glass to answer the call when it ended, and notifications flashed on her screen. There were the two missed calls from Jace, and then one from Isabelle from earlier, and a text from Magnus before the calls. His message was barely comprehensible

 _I thgk kace is fyyyyykd._

Even predictive text couldn't save him from whatever state he was in.

"'The fuck?" She croaked, her mouth feeling dry and she realized she had probably actually fallen asleep, not just slipped in and out like she though. She sat up, rolling her shoulders and arching her back, hearing it pop before she got up off the bed. The apartment wasn't cold but it wasn't warm either, and without the body heat of Maia and Jordan nearby and the blanket that had been over her legs, Clary shivered as she walked into the kitchen, putting space between her and the bed to call back Jace. The call rang and rang and the thought it was going to go to voice mail when Jace finally picked up. "Hello?"

"Clary?!" Jace's voice was so loud that she had to pulled her phone away from her ear. She couldn't help but smile and shake her head.

" _Hey, Jace_ ," Clary sung out softly to him. "What's up?"

"I need..." Jace drifted off and she could hear talking and music in the background. "Izzy! It's Clary!" He was yelling too loud again and she had to pull her phone away from her ear again. She glanced over her shoulder but Maia and Jordan were both still fast asleep. "Clary, Izzy's coming!" He announced into her ear and she let out another laugh. Jace sounded as though he was scrabbling with his phone, like maybe he had dropped it, and then it was being shifted around and Isabelle came on.

"Clary!" At least she sounded a bit more sober. "We need you to come and pick Jace up!"

"You guys alright?" She asked.

"Well, we all decided to go out for a drink, and we're getting a cab back to Alec's place, but your guys place is in the opposite direction and we can't all get into cab," Isabelle explained. She _definitely_ sounded more sober than Jace, but she could hear the slight slur in her words. "Are you good to come and pick him up?" It was a Thursday night, and often on Thursday's they would go out to one of their favourite bars, _Little George_ , because it was half price on drinks. Alec had text her that morning and asked her if she wanted to come over, but Maia had already asked if she wanted to come over for dinner and a movie.

Turned out dinner and a movie meant sex, and Clary found it hilarious that men and woman really _weren't_ that different.

"Yeah, that's fine," Clary replied. "I can be there in about twenty minutes." They were often each others sober drivers—more often than not, it was _Jace_ who was the sober one because Clary had him twisted around her little finger. Alec would also drive for them, but if they both wanted to drink, usually they would just get an uber.

"Great!" Isabelle made a kissing noise into the phone and just as Clary was about to pull the phone away from her phone, she heard Isabelle announcing to the others that Clary was coming and a cheer went up. Clary grinned and walked back over to her pile of clothes. There were lights coming through the windows and Maia's TV was turned on, although it was on mute, and the light from there as well helped her find all of her clothes and get dressed. Her hair was a mess from where she had been pushed down on the pillow for so long, so she settled for tying it up in a bun. Maia and Jordan were _still_ asleep, and so Clary guessed that they were probably out for the night, and she snatched up her keys from where she had dropped them on the couch and walked out the front door.

It didn't take too long to get to the bar, given the time of night and the fact the bar wasn't in the middle of the city, but in the surrounding suburbs where they all lived. Clary found a parking spot and headed inside. She was under-dressed compared to a lot of the people around her, but her jeans were tight and made her ass look amazing, and even though her hair was a mess, she totally had that after-sex glow going on, so she was confident as she walked toward the back of the bar where they usually sat. Magnus was standing beside the table and Clary snorted as she saw the long, dark jacket that he was wearing that had glitter twined through it, so it caught the lights when he moved.

That had been _her_ jacket until about six months ago when Magnus had told her that it would suit him better and he had claimed it from her wardrobe.

"Clary!" Isabelle cried out as she spotted her, and Magnus spun around—a little unsteadily. `

"My little Clare Bear!" Magnus threw his arms around her and Clary needed to take a step back given the weight he leaned on her and she laughed.

"You guys all seem to be...Having a good time," she grinned around at them, noting the amount of empty glasses and bottles on the table. The whole bar itself was quite busy, which must be why the wait staff hadn't come over to clear off the table.

"Yes, but I think we need to be going now," Alec said pointedly as he glanced around the table. There were groans from Jace, Isabelle, Simon and Magnus at that comment and Clary grinned again. Of _course_ it was Alec who was ending the night, it usually was. He was sort of the dad figure of their group, making sure they didn't stay out too late on nights like this when most of them had work the next morning, and even though they acted as though he was a drag, they appreciated it.

" _Fine_ ," Jace stuck out his lower lip, pouting across at Alec who just rolled his eyes. Jace picked up the beer bottle in front of him, quickly finishing off the rest of liquid and then swinging his bar stool around. "Let's go!" He announced as he reached an arm for Clary. Clary shifted from where she was beside Magnus so that she was in front of Jace, and he tossed his arm over her shoulder and used her to balance himself as he go off the bar stool and steadied himself on the ground.

"How much have you had to drink?" Clary asked with a laugh.

"Not enough!" Jace made a face. "I was going to go and see Sebastian."

"You don't need to be drunk to go and see Sebastian," Clary pointed out. Jace looked as though he had something to say, but even in his drunken state, he pursed his lips together and his eyes slid away. Clary felt her eyebrows pull together, because there was obviously something there that he hadn't told her. She glanced over at Isabelle, who was watching them with a confused expression, so it seemed as though Jace hadn't talked about whatever it was that was keeping him from seeing Sebastian. "Alright, well, I think it's about time that we get you home." Jace nodded and gave Isabelle a hug and said his goodbyes to Alec and Magnus before following Clary out of the bar.

"Where were you?" Jace asked as they stepped into the night air. Jace stopped to dig around in his pocket, and Clary paused next to him as he got out a pack of cigarettes and fumbled in another pocket for his lighter. He didn't smoke often, that was Clary's vice, but when he was drinking, he usually puffed his way through two or three. He flicked his thumb over it a few times, but he kept slipping off the roll of the lighter, the flame never burning for longer.

"At Maia's," Clary replied as she stepped forward to take the lighter from Jace. He let her take it and she cupped the end of the cigarette, easily lighting the flame and burning the end of the cigarette. Jace took in an appreciative drag and nodded at her, taking the lighter back.

"Thanks," he muttered before continuing to walk. There were a couple of girls who were hanging around at the table and chairs outside the bar, smoking, and Jace glanced over them as a few gave him fuck-me eyes, and then carried on after Clary.

"So what's this about needing to be drunk to see Sebastian?" Clary prompted as they reached her car. She pressed the button on her fob and the lights flashed on the car as it unlocked. They both got in, and as Clary turned on the engine, Jace pressed on the button to lower his window so that he could hang his cigarette out. He didn't answer her as she reversed out of the parking spot and turned the music on her stereo up a little. She gave him a few more minutes before asking again. "Jace? What's going on with you and Sebastian?"

"Nothing," he mumbled. Jace didn't sound annoyed at her, but he didn't sound as though he wanted to open up. That was unusual, because even though Clary was more open that Jace was, he still spoke to her about what was going on in his life.

Then again, he had been _very_ private about Sebastian.

"Okay..." Clary didn't want to push him, so she settled for reaching over and putting her hand on his thigh, giving it a slight squeeze. "Anything that you want to talk about, though, you know I'm here if you need to talk." Jace just jerked his head in a nod and didn't say anything as he continued smoking. Clary took her hand off his knee and turned her music up even louder as they kept driving. They were almost back to their place when Jace sighed, flicking his cigarette butt out the window and doing it up.

"I had a fight with Sebastian," he stated. Clary's eyebrows lifted as she glanced over at him, before indicating to pull down their road.

"A fight?" She asked in surprise, feeling taken aback. Her and Jace had had a number of disagreements over the years, that was what happened when you were close friends with someone over a long period of time, especially when you lived together. But she would never class any of them as a _fight_. Clary was certainly fiery enough to get into a fight, but Jace wasn't, he managed to diffuse things quickly, because he wasn't the type of guy that got into big arguments. He didn't like tension, and even when he wasn't the one in the wrong, he would try to smooth things over reasonably quickly.

"Maybe not a fight..." Jace admitted with a shrug and Clary calmed down a bit, because that sounded a lot better. "But it felt like one." Something else that more like Jace, because he took them all to heart. He didn't expand anymore, and so Clary didn't ask anything else as they pulled into their driveway. Clary got out of the car first and walked quickly around to Jace's side of the car, helping him get out and putting an arm around him and helping him into the house. "I'm good," Jace told her as they got inside, and Clary grinned as he attempt to take off his shoes and nearly toppled right over.

"Hold on," Clary said, giving him a gentle nudge so that he was leaning against the wall and she knelt down to unlace his shoes. She took them off, one foot at a time, and then put tossed them toward the other shoes. When she looked up, she was smirking, because she was expecting Jace to be looking down at her in annoyance for not lining up the shoes like he usually did. But he was just staring at her with a strange, almost sad look on his face. The smile dropped off her face as she straightened up. "Come on," she murmured, pulling at his hand and leading him down the hallway.

Jace got into bed, still fully clothed just without his jacket, and he was asleep within a couple of seconds. Clary watched him, arms folded over her chest, trying to decipher what was going on with her best friend and roommate.

As she turned around to leave, she picked up the jacket that he had tossed toward the chair in the corner of his room. She hung it properly over the back of the chair so that it wouldn't be creased or folded wrong, and then after a moment, she slipped her hand into the pocket of the jacket and took out his phone. She knew his passcode and quickly typed it in and then found Sebastian's name.

 _It's Clary. Come over. Door is unlocked, lock it up behind you._

Clary bit down on her lip, hovering over the send button, and then tapped her thumb down. She put the phone on the table beside his bed and went to her room.

 _Sooooo the first thing I want to say was that the P!nk concert was absolutely amazing! Holy shit, she was incredible. She spent more time up in the air than she did on the stage. It was also her birthday the night we went, so her daughter and hubby came out with a cake, and shit...The whole thing was just amazing._

 _I rewatched a couple of old movies when I was off work sick, some of my old favourites;_ Dinosaur, Matilda _and_ Stardust _. Honestly, I can never get tired of them. Animated movies are my go-to's when I'm sick or drained and just done with life. Haha. They're just the beeeest. I also really wanted to recommend_ Hannah Gandsby: Nanette _. It's a comedy special on Netflix and I really don't want to say much about it and give it away, but it is absolutely incredible, and not quite what you would expect? Watch iiiiiit._

 _Song wise, I'm super obsessed with_ Dynasty _by MIIA, and all the fandom videos on Youtube using that song. And_ High Hopes _by Panic! at the Disco. Everytime I hear that song, all I can see is Shawn Mendes appreciative look at Brendon Urie as he was performing it at the VMA's. Hahaha. Also_ High On Life _by Martin Garrix,_ Temporary Love _by Joey,_ 48 _by Moss Kena and_ The Getaway _by Hilary Duff. If you guys have any recommendations, send them through!_

 _I've also become re-obsessed with 5SOS. They were amazing in concert when I saw them a few years ago, but I hadn't been a massive fan then. I ammmm now! Luke Hemming in that damn glittery eyeliner. Shit! And maybe when he and Michael play each others guitars, I get intense heart eyes, I don't know..._

 _Oh, has anyone watched the newest season of_ Ozark _? I_ haven't _gotten around to it yet, not sure if it's as good as the first season? Also, we finally finished_ Banshee _. Haha. I know that it's a super old show, but we just have so many that we took ages to get through. But we finally did! God, it was brilliant. I absolutely adored Job and Sugar, and Siobhan just broke my heart. Overall, the show was great, and if you haven't seen it, please do!_

 _Oooh, oooh! And_ The Gifted _is back! Thunderblink is beautiful and I'm totally digging Andy's look. And_ SVU _!_

 _Oh—and is everyone else watching the new Shane Dawsons documentary? I don't really like the subject matter at all, dude's an ass, but I love him._

 _Omg. Okay. I'll stop here. God I hate these once monthly updates. Can't wait till my schedule is less busy. Anyway. Let me know what you thought of the chapter, and let me know if you want a preview xx_


	9. Chapter 9

_Okay, so...I had a really, really,_ really, really _shitty day. Not the worst I've had, not by far, I actually managed to get myself out of bed and somehow drove to work, although through anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds, I don't remember much. So I had a horrible, horrible day, but then I came home and my husband had brought me roses, and chocolate, and my favourite lollies—and not_ just _my favourite lollies, but he went through all the packs at the shop to find the one with the most of the pineapple lollies, which are my_ favourite of the favourite _. Then we watched almost three hours of Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams videos, and fell more in love with Garrett Watts._

 _And now I feel a lot better. A_ hell _of a lot better._

 _So much better that I wanted to do something to make you guys happy as well :)_

 _Here's an update..._

Clary didn't need to be anywhere on Friday morning, and so when she got out of bed just after ten, she didn't bother changing. Jace was usually gone on Fridays—he went to the gym on Friday morning and then usually had a set to get to. Clary walked into the kitchen and turned on the shower and then walked out to the lounge as she waited for it to heat up. She filled the coffee maker and turned it on, taking a bottle of water out of the fridge and sipping on it before leaving it with the cap off on the bench before walking into the lounge. Clary turned on the speakers that were plugged into their smart TV and accessed their music library. When the first song started playing, a Cardi B song that Jace absolutely detested, Clary turned the dial up high so that she would still be able to hear it in the bathroom. She wiggled her hips, tipping her head to the side a few times and then walking over to the windows and opening the curtains.

"Seriously?" Came a grunt that Clary only just heard over the music because she had just turned back towards the kitchen. She let out a surprised squeak and then narrowed her eyes at Jace.

"Fuck. You can't make some noise to let me know you're around?" She asked with a roll of her eyes. Jace just rolled his eyes back at her as he let out grumble as he picked up the cap she had left on the bench, screwing it back onto her bottle of water and putting it into the fridge while she walked over to the last set of windows to open the curtains. Jace took three cups out of the cupboard and put them onto the bench, and then leaned his hip against the bench and let out a groan as he rubbed his hands over his eyes.

"Can you turn that shit down?" Jace grunted again and Clary walked over the speakers, turning down the volume before coming into the kitchen where he was. His shaggy hair was all ruffled and looked a bit knotted on one side, so he had clearly slept heavily on that one side. Clary pushed off the ground so that she was sitting on the bench and put a hand on his shoulder, tugging him to take a few steps closer to her.

"C'mere," she told him softly and directed him until he was standing between her legs. His temperature was running hot, like usual, and he was shirtless, only wearing a pair of loose fitted sweatpants that were hanging low on his hips. Clary couldn't help but let her eyes sweep appreciatively over him before she threaded her fingers through his golden hair. "You need to get a hair cut soon," she murmured under her breath as she tugged her fingers through his hair, un-knotting it gently and massaging his scalp. Jace relaxed underneath her touches, tipping his head forward and letting out a few heavy sighs. Clary rubbed her fingers through his hair, continued to massage it once it was all untangled, and his head ended up tipped all the way forward so that his forehead was resting on her shoulder. Clary smiled at the way he was humming under his breath in contentment, but she was pulled out of her little lull by what Jace had said last night, and then what she had done after he had gone to bed. "Jace?" She murmured as she tugged on his hair and he lifted his head.

"Mm?" He asked, his eyes looking a little blearily, clearly still a bit hungover, tired and then also relaxed from Clary's ministrations.

"Did Sebastian come over last night?" She asked him softly. Jace's eyes widened slightly and focused on her.

"Did you hear him come in?"

"Well, that answers my question," Clary grinned. "No, I didn't, but I did text him after you went to sleep. You guys were pretty damn quiet last night, though. I didn't hear a thing," she wiggled her eyebrows at him cheekily, but Jace just pursed his lips together and looked down. "Hey," Clary frowned, the smile gone as she gave his shoulder a squeeze. "What's wrong? He's here, isn't he? Whatever argument you guys had is over?"

"I don't know," Jace shrugged.

"Jace, don't be an idiot," Clary sighed. "You really like this guy. He seems to really like you. Just—get over what happened and move on." Jace looked back up at her and there was a conflict on his face that she didn't understand. "What was it about...In the first place?" Jace swallowed hard and it looked as though he was trying to find the words, but then Sebastian walked through the kitchen door, bleary eyed and wearing a pair of sweatpants and a loose fitted shirt that still managed to show off his bulging biceps.

"Uh—the shower is running?" Sebastian's voice was rough with sleep as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "The hallway is filled with steam."

"Ah, shit," Clary made a face and tapped on Jace's shoulders to push him backwards. He stepped back so that she could slip off the bench. "Make sure you refill that coffee pot when you guys drink it all!" She reminded over her shoulder before skipping out of the room. She wanted to stay and see Sebastian and Jace interact, maybe try and smooth things over if they were still tense, but she didn't. She went into the bathroom, kicking the door shut with her foot as she began pulling off her shirt and underwear, tossing them in the direction of the corner of the bathroom.

* * *

Sebastian had been surprised to get the text last night, although it made sense that it was Clary reaching out and not Jace. Not that he wasn't happy about it, he had felt bad about how things had gone the last time they were together, and he had text Jace a couple of times to try and resolve things. When Jace had ignored him, Sebastian had stopped.

He wasn't a teenager anymore, and he wasn't interested in playing any games, chasing after someone who wasn't ready to talk.

But when he had gotten the text from Clary off Jace's phone, Sebastian couldn't help but respond. He had text back, but then hadn't gotten any response, and so after he had finished his shift at the night club, he had come by Jace and Clary's home. It was two hours after Clary's text, and he definitely need to speak with both of them about being more careful when leaving their doors unlocked, but that was something for another day.

Jace had it bad for Clary.

He acted as though it was some big secret, but Sebastian had only seen them together three times and he could blatantly see it, even if he hadn't put it together from the way Jace spoke about her. If Sebastian could work it out so easily, he was guessing that the rest of their friends knew. Before he had met Clary, he had thought that she _must_ know, given how obvious Jace's face lit up whenever she was mentioned or he said her name.

But then he had met Clary, and she was one of _those_ girls.

Those girls who were blissfully unaware of how charming they were. She definitely knew she was beautiful and that she had an affect on _both_ sexes, but she just didn't know how many hearts she had undoubtedly broken in her life time. Sebastian had met quite a few people like her in his life—both men and woman. They were free spirited and loved often and fleetingly and just assumed that everyone else was the same as her, so they didn't realize how many people were falling for them, or that when their attention shifted, they would leave a trail of broken hearts behind them.

Sebastian didn't have anything against people like that.

Not at all.

He loved the way that they loved life, and from being around Clary, it was obvious how much she did, and how much she loved the people in her life. And even if her attention didn't stay on one thing for very long, her care people, especially Jace, was clear.

Sebastian liked that.

He respected it.

And he had no problem with admitting he could see the attraction to Clary. She was beautiful and caring and funny.

It was just that Jace was obviously trying to make a decision between the two, not seeing any other option, and Sebastian didn't want to rush anything, but he already knew how he felt about Jace. He also knew that there was another option other than _choosing_ one of them, but that wasn't only his decision to make.

"I think we should talk," Sebastian cleared his throat as he heard Clary close the bathroom door behind her, and the sound of the water hitting the walls and floor of the shower before it was silenced. Jace bit down on his lower lip and crossed his arms over his chest, a definite sign of someone trying to protect themselves. Sebastian didn't like that and he walked forward, reaching out to put a hand on his arm. "Don't be like that," he said softly. "I don't want you to feel awkward or uncomfortable."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have asked me why I haven't told Clary that I loved her," Jace muttered, still not unfolding his arms, his shoulders tensed. Sebastian sighed and slid his hands further down Jace's arm, toward his hand, giving it a tug, trying to pull it out of it's folded position.

"Jace..." Sebastian sighed. "You know I didn't mean to back you into a corner."

"Because I've been _so_ open about talking about my feelings for her every other time you've brought it up," Jace's voice was tense and Sebastian stopped trying to tug at his hand. Instead, he dropped his hand so that it was resting on Jace's hip. Jace was tall, just over six feet, but Sebastian was even bigger, two inches taller than him, and he had a lot more muscle bulk than Jace. So when he took a step closer, the gap between them shrinking, Jace had to blink up at him with big, golden eyes.

Sebastian could see arousal flickering in their depths as well, even though Jace was trying to tamper that down.

"I only asked because I'm serious about what we have," Sebastian admitted, even though that wasn't really something that he had been prepared to divulge. It wasn't that he was scared of commitment—far from it. He had been serious about what he and Jace had from the first time they had spoken properly. But it was Jace that didn't seem ready for a relationship.

A big reason of that being Clary.

"Wh—you are?" Jace frowned. "I thought this shit was just some fun."

"Maybe for you," Sebastian didn't like thinking that, but it could be the case. "But it stopped being that for me pretty quickly." Jace looked taken aback, and his arms weren't crossed quite as tightly as they were before. Sebastian squeezed Jace's hip. "Look, I'm not trying to put you in a bad spot. Clary's someone who is incredibly important to you—she's _family_ to you, as far as I can tell." Jace swallowed hard but he didn't disagree with Sebastian, so he took that as a good sign. "I just know that there's no way that we can properly move forward when what you have with Clary is unresolved." Jace stared at him, and then he sighed, dropping his gaze.

"I get you," he stated, his voice quiet. "But it's not that easy."

"I know," Sebastian nodded, giving his hip another squeeze. "And I'm not rushing you. This thing we have is new and it's not—it's not a relationship yet. I just want you to know that _I know_ that's something that needs to happen before there can be a proper us." Jace nodded and looked back up at him.

Jace could be cheeky.

He could be slightly arrogant and sarcastic.

He could even be a bit loud.

But there was something that changed in Jace when he was around Sebastian, and the older man both liked and disliked it. He liked that there was a softer, a more uncertain side of Jace that he didn't seem to show many people, but for some reason had decided that Sebastian was worthy to see. But then on the other hand, he disliked it because he wasn't sure if Jace was letting him see this side because he didn't think Sebastian would like him if he showed him the other side.

That was something for another day, though.

It was something that he liked seeing when Jace and Clary were together, that both had a teasing, playful vibe when they were together.

"Do you want coffee?" Jace asked, his voice coming out in a rasp, and his cheeks reddened slightly as he heard himself. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Do you want some coffee?" Sebastian grinned and nodded, taking a step back and letting his hands slip into his pockets. Jace turned around and busied himself with pouring coffee into two cups. He went to the fridge and took out the bottle of milk. Sebastian walked past Jace and into the lounge, looking around, hands still in the pockets of his sweatpants. He hadn't really been in the rest of the house, other than a few quick walk throughs, and he took his time looking around now.

"Did Clary take this?" Sebastian asked as he walked over to the far wall, beside a tall, wooden and wrought-iron set of shelves. Next to it was a photo of a close up photo of three water lilies. It had obviously been taken on an extremely high resolution camera, because the detail was crisp, right down to a drop of water on one of the petals.

"Yeah," Jace nodded as he joined the other man in the lounge, carrying the two cups of coffee. "It was in her last year of university, she put it in her final showcase." Sebastian took the cup of coffee off Jace and took a step toward the shelves. There were knick knacks and photos and the stereo system there and he took his time, looking over the photos of Jace and Clary and their friends. The music was still playing, although not very loud, and Sebastian's lips curled as he heard the music.

"Cardi B?" He asked with a grin.

"Clary's choice," Jace groaned. "Not mine."

"You don't like Cardi?" Sebastian asked with widened eyes, feigning a scandalized expression. Jace studied him for a moment, eyebrows pulled together, as though trying to figure out if Sebastian was being serious or not.

"Fucking hell. You too?" He asked with a grimace.

"Hey, I love the girl," Sebastian grinned.

"So does Clary," Jace made a face as he went to sit down on the long, L-shaped couch that had two fluffy throws over the back it and multiple plushy cushions that he sunk into. "She has made me watch _so many_ videos of her on Youtube, that I feel like maybe before, I would have thought that she was okay, but then I've been completely overloaded with her, and it just makes me hate her." Sebastian just shook his head, a disappointed look on his face and Jace just rolled his eyes. "Why does everyone act as though I've kicked their dog when I say that?!"

"Kicking my imaginary dog would be _better_ than saying you don't like Queen B!" Clary shouted from down the hallway and Jace snorted.

"I'm pretty sure you're using that name for the wrong B singer!" Jace shouted back.

"Am not!"

"Are too!" Jace retorted and there was a loud laugh from the hallway and then the sound of a door shutting. Sebastian shook his head and laughed before taking a sip of coffee.

"I swear that's the quickest shower I've ever heard a girl take," Sebastian noted.

"She gets FOMO," Jace replied.

"FOMO?" Sebastian quirked an eyebrow.

"Fear of missing out," Jace said with a shrug. "She likes to be involved." Sebastian grinned, because that was what he had surmised from just the couple of times that he had met her. He didn't mind though, she was fun to be around. They continued talking—avoiding any mention of Cardi B, because clearly that was a touchy subject—until Clary came out. Her hair was braided and hanging over her shoulder and she was wearing a light blue hoodie and a pair of mini shorts.

"So," she grinned as she bounced onto the couch between them. "Did you guys fuck and make up yet?"

There was a simultaneous groan from Jace and snort from Sebastian.

 _Yesterday was World Mental Health Day, or today is that day for a lot of you, the 10th._

 _Please be kind to each other, people have so much going on in their heads that just isn't obvious from the outside._

 _Much love xx_


	10. Chapter 10

_Hey guys :) So this is my last update of the year. I've got quite a lengthy A/N below, but in case you guys don't want to read my droning on and on, then I want to wish you guys a safe and a happy holidays and I will be back next year xxx_

 _Also, I have posted several new stories, including a werewolf one called_ Put Your Heart On Mine, _and a biker one,_ Wrong Side Of A Parallel Universe _. I definitely have my favourite AU's. Haha. So check those out :)_

Clary skipped down the concrete steps of the university. There were students crowding the steps, some of them standing, some of them sitting, quite a few in couples and clearly in no rush to get anywhere. Clary wasn't in any particular rush either, although she was in a good mood, and so there was a spring in her step. She was wearing a short, light green dress that fluttered around her thighs, and a wedge heeled shoes with ribbons that tied around her ankles.

There were a couple of appreciative looks from people as she passed, but her eyes caught on one person, and she ignored everyone else.

"Sebastian?" She called out, slowing her walk. Sebastian's head jerked up at hearing his name from looking at his phone, glancing around before finding her. He gave her a wide smile and started walking over. Clary liked that, how he looked completely comfortable with coming over to her. Some people felt uncomfortable around people they didn't know very well, and she was never really good with them, even though she could completely respect that everyone was different.

"Hey, Clary," Sebastian smiled at her as he leaned in to give her a short hug.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as she looked over his shoulder, wondering if he was there with anyone.

"I could ask you the same thing," Sebastian replied easily as he moved to stand more to the side, leaning against the railing. Clary couldn't help but let her eyes drift over him, the casual jeans he was wearing and white and pink tee-shirt that was tight around his biceps. She wasn't doing it in a way where she was going to make a _move_ or anything, just general appreciation for his physique. She's sure Jace would understand. "Aren't you some big shot photographer now?" His words had a familiar, teasing edge to them, as though they were old friends.

"Well, I wouldn't say that," Clary rolled her eyes, cocking her hip to lean against the railing as well, one step above him and still an inch or so shorter than him. "I took one good photo."

"It was a _beautiful_ photo," Sebastian told her sincerely and Clary blinked at him, a little surprised. "And I've seen other photos that you've taken as well, and they're incredible as well," he quirked an eyebrow. "Although, you don't strike me as someone who needs to be told that you're good at something." Clary blinked again.

"Uh, yeah...Right," she didn't really know what to say to that. "Anyway—what were you doing here?"

"I'm taking classes," Sebastian replied, nodding down at his arm, and Clary noticed a two books clasped in his hand, along with his wallet and his phone.

"In...What?" Clary asked.

"Well, just _a_ class," Sebastian corrected himself. "It's a management course. It's not going to get me any degree or anything at the end of it, just a certificate with a qualification, it's only for a couple of months, it's just in one of the rooms here."

"A management course?" Clary prompted him with an interested expression on her face.

"Yeah," Sebastian nodded. "Um," he twisted his mouth together as he thought for a moment, not too sure how much Jace had told her. "So, obviously I do security work. Bouncer at a couple of clubs a few nights a week and stuff." Clary nodded. "I do security through the day at a hotel in town, _The Carmen_."

"Ooh, that place is nice," Clary hummed out. She had been there once with a guy she had known from Chicago, who was in town visiting for a weekend. It had been a nice experience, even if they had barely left the bedroom.

"Yeah, that's my main job, I guess I could call it," Sebastian continued. "And one of the supervisors is leaving because his wife got a promotion and they're moving to Chicago. It's not for another few months, but once he's gone, there's going to be a job opening, and one of our assistant managers has been talking about retiring, which means that there's room for a supervisor position to turn into something _more_. My boss is a good, and he said if I can just get something else on my resume, then he'll make sure I'm in the top choices to get the job."

"So you're taking a course?"

"Yup," Sebastian nodded. "Sort of a bit weird being back in school after ten years, but I like it."

"Ten _years_?" Clary's green eyes widened. "How old are you?!" Sebastian laughed, his dark eyes twinkling.

"I'll be twenty-eight next month," he answered.

"Oh, shit," Clary giggled. "I thought you were the same age as us."

"Because five years makes _such_ a difference," he smirked.

"Oh, absolutely," Clary gave him a mock-knowing look. "You're already over that hump of halfway to fifty." Sebastian shook his head and just grinned back at her. "Well..." Clary looked back at the books in his hands and then met his eyes again. "I should probably let you go."

"I was actually just leaving, so...I can walk you out to your car," Sebastian offered.

" _Or_ ," Clary wiggled her eyebrows at him. "I'm meeting up with Jace for coffee just down the block if you want to come." She knew that he and Jace had had some sort of fight, but then Sebastian had come over the week when Jace was drunk and things had seemed between them. She wasn't sure if Jace had been out to see him very much, because she had been spending a lot of time at Magnus and Alec's apartment the past two weeks because of the project she was working on for him, but she hoped so.

Jace deserved to be happy.

"Yeah, sure," Sebastian smiled easily, and she took that as a good sign. She didn't bother texting Jace, because they were only a few minutes away anyway, and she had already text him before she had seen Sebastian to say that she was on her way. They walked down the rest of the stairs, Sebastian pausing to let her in front of him when they got a narrow part where there were a lot of people blocking the steps. Once they got off university grounds, it was only a few minutes walk until the coffee house where Jace was already waiting.

"So, do I need to ask you about your intentions with my best friend?" Clary asked with a grin, the bounce in her step back, the braids her hair was in jumping slightly against her back and shoulders.

"I don't think I could take you seriously if you tried to give me 'the talk'," Sebastian mused and Clary narrowed her eyes playfully.

"For your information, I can be very intimidating," she sniffed and Sebastian.

"It's a little hard to think that with ribbons around your legs and your hair in braids," he noted and Clary rolled her eyes at him.

" _Anyway_ ," she continued, as though what he had just said hadn't made a difference. "I'm sure I won't have to do anything too drastic to you, since it's obvious you're already head over heels for Jace," her words were sly and knowing as she looked over at him from under her eyelashes. Sebastian just smiled back at her, not answering, and Clary laughed, not pushing it any further. When they reached the coffee house, Sebastian pulled open the door, waiting for Clary to go walk inside first, letting her lead the way.

"Hey, Cl—Sebastian?" Jace looked confused where he was sitting down at a seat in one of the corner tables. It was modern looking place, with cushions and scraps of material over everything, and Jace was sitting on the wall side of the table, on a long couch.

"I ran into him at the university," Clary said with a grin as she pulled out a seat on the opposite side of the table, and then purposefully put her bag down on the seat beside her so that Sebastian had to go and sit on the couch next to Jace. They didn't kiss hello or anything, but Sebastian put his hand on Jace's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze before he made himself comfortable, and Jace gave him a small, intimate smile that Clary liked. They looked good next to each other. "And I invited him along."

"What were you doing at the university?" Jace asked, twisting his body a bit to the side so that he was partially facing Sebastian and yet still open to Clary. Sebastian started telling Jace pretty much what he had already told Clary. A waitress came over to get their order and then left, and Sebastian continued. Once he had finished, and their drinks had been brought over and told that their food wouldn't be far away.

"You never actually told me what _you_ were doing there," Sebastian said as he picked up his coffee cup.

"Oh, yeah," Clary grinned as she dipped her finger into the cream that was swirled around in a mountain on top of her drink. "One of Magnus' friends helps out a lot with the fashion students here, and she picks out a lot of them to start interning with clothing lines and stuff. Anyway, they have a show coming up, their final show, and she wants me to document the whole thing, takes photos and shit, it helps with the students portfolio."

"And _that's_ why you haven't been around," Jace feigned an annoyed expression but Clary just grinned back at him. She ate the cream off the top of her drinks first, swiping at some of it with her finger, scooping some of it with her spoon, and not realizing that both men were paying pretty close attention to her movements.

"Don't worry, the show is next week, and then I'll be back," Clary grinned at them and then smiled widely up at the waitress came back with their food. Clary had ordered a huge sandwich which was already pretty much falling apart, Jace had gone with breakfast for lunch and Sebastian had already eaten, so he just got a muffin. Sebastian watched with interest as Clary took the pickles off her sandwich and put them on Jace's plate, and he stabbed the mushrooms on his plate and put them on hers.

They had a very casual intimacy between the pair of them, and it wasn't just in a friendship way.

"So, Sebastian said that it was his birthday next month," Clary wiggled around in her seat, her eyes flicking between the pair of them. "Do you have any big plans?"

"Nope," Sebastian shook his head.

"I didn't know it was your birthday next month," Jace said at the same time, nudging Sebastian in the side. The taller man just shrugged as he shoved almost half the muffin into his mouth at once. Clary kept eating for a few minutes, Jace and Sebastian shifting the topic of conversation to some new TV series that was coming out that they both wanted to watch when her head shot up.

"Oh my god," Clary stated, and with the way her whole body jerked up, she bumped the table with her knees and her fork slid off where it was balancing against the side of her plate. "I've got the best idea for your birthday."

"You're sticking with that, huh?" Sebastian asked with an amused tone. "How do you know an old guy like me would be interested in the same thing that you are?" Clary rolled her eyes at the gentle jab at their previous conversation.

"Because _everyone_ would be okay with this fun. _Trust me_ ," there was a sparkle in her eye that Jace had learnt to be very wary of.

"Cla-ry," Jace dragged her name out and gave her a pointed look.

"No, no, this is awesome," Clary continued, and she was pulling open her bag and fumbling around inside, obviously not bothered by the fact that half of her food was now completely forgotten. She pulled out her phone and tapped away at the screen, still smiling almost manically, doing a little wiggle around in her seat that she did when she got excited. Sebastian gave Jace a questioning look, and Jace just shrugged going back to his food. Sebastian decided to do the same, although he couldn't help but looked up at Clary every few minutes as she was busy on her phone, but she didn't look up at either of them.

"Are you going to finish that?" Jace asked, although he was already pulling her plate toward him. Clary just waved a hand at him non-committedly, and Jace seemed to take that as a go ahead as he picked up her sandwich and bit into it.

"Okay," Clary said, still sounding distracted, after a few minutes. "I need to go and make some calls," she flashed a smile at both of them as she stood up and grabbed her bag. "I'll get back to you about the birthday thing though, yeah? I'll get your number from Jace," she grinned at Sebastian before coming around to the side of the table so she could throw an arm around Jace and hug him tightly, pressing a sloppy to his cheek. "I'll probably be home tonight, yeah? We could do dinner and a movie?"

"Uh," Jace looked across at Sebastian, wetting his lips with his tongue before looking back at Clary. "I'm not actually going to be home." Jace actually sounded nervous, although Clary didn't pick up on it, she was clearly distracted.

"That's _totally_ fine," Clary smirked over at Sebastian before she was skipping out of the store.

"Did she just leave the bill for us to pick up?" Sebastian asked in an amused tone.

"That happens a lot," Jace rolled his eyes affectionately. "But she more than makes up for it. I don't pay rent, and when there's shit that needs to be fixed around the house or anything, she never tells me, she just pays to get it fixed. Sometimes I realize and transfer her money, sometimes I don't and she just doesn't care."

"Shit," Sebastian quirked an eyebrow. "If she's covering the rent on that place all by herself, then she must be making some damn good money."

"Oh, nah, place is her dads. _Was_ her dads," Jace corrected himself. "He died a couple of years ago and left the place to Clary and her brother. Neither of them have...Particularly good memories with him, and so I don't think either of them really wanted to take the place. But after we finished university and moved back here, Clary decided she might as well take the place, and she asked me to move in with her."

"Did her parents die around the same time?" Sebastian prompted. "I remember you saying that her mum died a few years ago as well."

"They died within a year of each other—two completely unrelated causes. Her mother died in a car accident and her dad had cancer that they caught far too late. She was closer to her mum than she was to her dad, so Jocelyn dying impacted her a lot more," Jace shrugged a shoulder. "She doesn't like talking about it much, though. _Either_ of them."

"I can understand that. Parents can cause all kinds of messy shit in your head," Sebastian murmured, picking up his coffee cup and finishing off its contents. Jace raised an eyebrow at Sebastian, waiting for him to go on, but he didn't, so Jace didn't push it.

"Her brother doesn't care that she has the house, he lives in Las Vegas with his girlfriend. Both their parents left them money as well, so they agreed he got most of that, since she got the house, which Clary was totally fine with. Money doesn't really register on the scale of things that Clary wants," Jace pushed away the two plates in front of him, leaning back into the couch.

"You've said before that Clary just wants to be happy. To do what makes her happy, and be happy with her friends and family," Sebastian said quietly and Jace nodded, a small smile on his face.

"Pretty much," Jace nodded and smiled.

"You seem to make her happy," Sebastian commented. Jace's smile faltered and he shot a look over at Sebastian, but the taller man didn't say anything else, just let the words hang in the air. "So," Sebastian reached out and spread his hand out on Jace's thigh. "You got any idea what Clary has got planned for my birthday? I was honestly going to be totally fine with just going out for drinks or something."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen now," Jace snorted, and he let his hand fall from the tap to overlap Sebastian's. "Once Clary set's her mind to something, it tends to get a little out of hand."

"Should I be worried?" Sebastian asked with a laugh.

"It's usually a _good_ out of hand," Jace assured him, giving his hand a squeeze. " _Usually_." Sebastian shook his head and then looked at Jace with a gleam in his eye.

"You're not going home tonight, huh?" He asked.

"You got any other plans that I would interrupting if I came over?" Jace laced his fingers through Sebastian's.

"None at all."

 _So usually this is the point where I tell you guys some movies and songs that I'm super into. Since this is my last post, I had some other things I wanted to say. But I did see the new_ Halloween _movie, and_ The House With A Clock In Its Walls _and_ Venom _, and they were all good, although Venom was a bit of a let down. Also, anyone else a GallaVich supporter? I stopped watching_ Shameless _a few seasons ago, when it started spiraling, but holy shit, tumblr when crazy with the reunion, and that totally made my day. It was amaaaazing. These two boys deserve each other, and I'm so glad they got a very...fitting send off :)_

 _Right, well..._

 _This year has been hard. I feel this year has been bad for everyone. There have been the numerous mass shootings, it feels as though there is just one natural disaster after another and there is the continual, completely legitimate distrust of authorities who are meant to be the ones protecting us. There are so many things that I could write in here and specifically comment on, but I don't want to make this a political statement, just a statement that wherever we are in the world, we are all struggling. There are so many people struggling at the moment, but today, my heart goes out to the people of Brazil, all people in the Jewish community and to the beautiful LGBTQA members of the world, especially the transgender community, and specifically those in America._

 _There have been good things as well, though! The rescue of the boys in Thailand, the proud, unapologetic statement that Colin Kaepernick's Nike campaign made, the decriminalization of homosexuality in India, the incredible organisation and unity in the March For Our Lives and the utter love and support shown by so many people in this world toward one another. This was just demonstrated yet again in the past few days with the non profit Muslim organisations who set up the online funding for those in the Jewish community affected by this one of the most recent horrific attacks._

 _This year has also been hard for myself personally, as I'm sure some of you are aware from my posts. My mental health is probably the worst it's ever been, I'm dealing with some relationship issues with my husband, I lost the friendship of someone that I considered very close after a betrayal that left me spinning and over the past few months, it's been the one year anniversary of the deaths of three people, who all died within a month of each other. I consider myself pretty open with you guys about my problems, and a big reason for that is because I know how lonely this huge world can feel sometimes. I just hope that with me putting myself out there, if you guys are dealing with something similar, then hopefully you know you're not alone. While I don't always have the best words, if any of you ever want to PM me just to get things off your chest, I'm here. I don't always know what to say, but sometimes just putting your problems into words can help, and I am more than happy to be that person for any of you xx_

 _Alright._

 _Well._

 _That was all very intense, but I felt it was necessary. I'm sorry if it felt as though I was crossing a line with any of it, but that's why I said at the top that if you didn't want to read all of this, just read by first authors note!_

 _Anyway._

 _I hope every single one of you has a safe and incredible and happy holidays with the people you love the most, and I will be back next year, probably early February. Here's to a better next year xx_


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, my beautiful, wonderful readers! It's early February, so as promised, here's an update! I hope you guys have had an amazing past few months, and I hope you're still interested in these stories! Just a quick heads up that I've uploaded some oneshots, and I do still have a couple to post, but I had so many requests to update my multi-chapters, so I thought I would update these before continuing with my editing, so there are some more to come!**

 **Anyway, here we go...**

The house was quiet as Jace pushed open the door for his room. Clary was at Isabelle's, they were having a girls night because Simon had some work thing on and wasn't going to be home until the early hours of the morning. Sebastian was working security, which meant he wouldn't be getting off until around three or four in the morning, and there wasn't much point in him coming to Jace's after since Jace would just be waking up a few hours after he arrived. It was already after seven, because Jace had ended up going out for dinner with Alec and Magnus after he had finished at a job interview with the public relations department of a car company. He would only be a contractor, but that was something that he wanted, so that he still had room to look at other jobs as well, to keep things interesting.

He thought he had a pretty good shot at the job, actually. He felt confident about it.

Sebastian had come to see him at lunch and then just before his interview, Clary had met him and brought coffee from his favourite place.

Jace licked his lips and carefully put his laptop bag on top of the desk in the corner of his room and shrugged out of his jacket. He ran his fingers through his hair and idly thought that he should probably go and have a shower, but it had been a long day. He'd been up since five, out of the house well before Clary was even awake, to go for a run, because it had been a while since he had. When he got home, Clary was just leaving, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek as she flew out the door, only wearing one shoe, the other in her hand, and a muffin clutched in the other hand. He had a follow up meeting with the travel agency he had shot a video for, and they'd asked him to do another shoot in a few months time, which was good. He'd gone back home to do some editing, which was when Sebastian had come to meet him. They hadn't done anything other than eat and watch some TV, Jace taking a break from work for a few hours. He had text Clary when he was leaving the house to go into the city, and she had only been a block away from him, so she had met up with him and wished him luck for his interview and given him coffee.

Sebastian and Clary.

Clary and Sebastian.

Jace had a lot of feelings that he was still trying to work through.

It had been about four and a half months since he and Sebastian had first started fooling around and it had been just over a month since there had been the... _Disagreement_ between himself and Sebastian over Clary. Jace classed it as a fight in his head, but he knew it wasn't, it had been a disagreement.

Jace still didn't know what he wanted.

Sebastian didn't push him, and in a way that helped, but in another way it didn't.

He appreciated that he didn't push it because Jace was still trying to figure out everything himself, and he hadn't put any of his feelings for Clary into words yet, to _anyone_ , muchless to a man that he was falling for very quickly. But on the other hand, part of him wished that Sebastian _had_ pushed it...Because, well, everyone liked it when someone fought for their attention and love.

But last night, Sebastian had mentioned a third option, kind of.

They had been at Sebastian's place and they had been in the bathroom. Sebastian was buried deep in his ass and Jace's hands had been braced against the bathroom vanity, his head hanging forward as his thighs shook and and his hands were slowly slipping forward on the vanity unit. Sebastian had wrapped a hand around Jace's cock, his hand covered in lube and making an obscene squelching noise as it began moving quickly, fingers curled tightly around his cock. Sebastian bit down at his shoulder, thrusting his hips forward, filling Jace and making him groan wantonly, and then he hissed into his ear,

"Your cock is so wet." Jace groaned at that, his ass tightening. "It feels so wet, like it's been buried in Clary's cunt." It had completely taken Jace by surprise and he had come abruptly all over the vanity unit.

They hadn't talked about it after they cleaned up, and then when Jace said goodbye to head back home, and then when they had seen each other today, they still hadn't talked about.

And Jace had spent the whole time since then, nearly twenty-four hours now, trying not to be hard.

But now he was home, and he was alone, and even though he was tired, after he stripped out of his clothes and stepped into the shower, his cock was so hard it was impossible to ignore. Jace scratched his fingers over his lower fingers and down his thighs for a moment, enjoying the tingles that ran through his body as he leaned against the tiled wall underneath the shower head. Then he looped two fingers loosely around the base of his cock and jacked himself slowly.

It didn't take long for him to get to the point where his toes were curling and he could feel his orgasm curling a the base of his spine. The water kept on falling over his shoulders and down his chest, and Jace reached down blindly, picking up the first bottle that his hand reached. He flipped open the lid as he lifted it and poured some onto his hand before he realized what it was that he was holding. It was Clary's body lotion, a citrusy one, and as he wrapped his hand around his cock again and the lotion began the bubble, the scent filled the shower, and it just smelt intensely of _Clary_.

Clary and her smooth skin.

Sebastian and his rough fingers.

Clary and her soft sighs.

Sebastian and his throaty grunts.

Jace wasn't even sure _which_ one he was thinking of when he came with a moan, his come mingling together with the citrus smelling bubbles and covering his hand.

Both of them.

Together.

 _All_ of them—together.

That was definitely where his mind went.

Jace sighed as he leaned his head back against the tiles.

* * *

The next morning, Jace woke up naturally, rather than to an alarm. He usually woke up around eight o'clock, more of a morning person than an evening one, but he must have slept in later than usual because the sun was fully streaming through the gaps in his curtains when his eyes finally opened. Jace sighed, rolling over and picking up his phone and wrinkling up his nose when he saw that it was almost ten in the morning. He rubbed his hand over his face and got out of bed, tugging on a pair of sweatpants over his briefs and stepping out of his room. As soon as he stepped out, he realized he wasn't the only one at home, because BLACKPINK was playing.

Usually that meant that Clary was on a cleaning or baking spree, because she liked bouncing around to the music. Jace definitely preferred the baking spree, but it had been a while since they had had a big clean of the house. The last time they had decided to deep clean, Clary decided that they should drink as well, and they had finished off a whole bottle of tequila and only finished the lounge and kitchen, not even starting down the hallway.

Jace scratched the back of his neck and he walked down the hallway, blinking when he heard voices coming from the kitchen. He considered going back to his bedroom to throw on a shirt as well, not sure who it was who was there, but then he recognized the voice and he sucked down on the corner of his lower lip.

Sebastian.

It really _shouldn't_ surprise him all that much, because recently, Sebastian and Clary had been getting on well and the three of them had started to hang out quite often, but there was just something that struck a chord inside Jace every time he saw them next to each other.

"You're awake!" Clary cried out as Jace came through the doorway. "Oh my god—we can turn the music up more now!" Sebastian grinned from where he was standing in front of the sink, his hands covered in bubbles.

" _You_ turn it up! My hands are wet!" He protested playfully.

"My hands are covered in dough!" Clary protested right back before turning her head to look back at Jace and gave him a grin, wiggling her eyebrows. "Can you turn it up, sleepyhead?" She asked and Jace rolled his eyes before heading through the kitchen and into the lounge, towards the sound system. Clary's phone, encased in it's bright pink and silver case, was plugged into the speakers, and he tapped in the passcode before scrolling through her Spotify playlist. "Hey!" Clary called out. "I know you're changing my music!" Jace just grinned as he tapped his thumb down on a Post Malone song and only then turned the sound up. "Bastard," she muttered without any malice in her voice. "We were _listening_ to that!"

"And now you're listening to this," Jace smirked at her, his body still feeling a little sleepy, and he knew that even though it was intended as a cheeky smirk, it was probably more of a sleepy smile. Clary was in a good mood, so instead of insisting he change the music back, she just went back to needing to the dough on the bench top.

"We're making scones," Sebastian stated, although he sounded a little uncertain as he made a face behind Clary's back was the dipped her hand into the flour and and scattered some more over the bench so that the dough didn't stick and tear. "And we've already made cupcakes—"

"And a raspberry and lemon cheesecake!" Clary grinned and Jace's eyes lit up.

"My favourite!" He came around the bench and into the kitchen, leaning forward to give her a kiss on the cheek. Clary just smiled back at him before beginning to roll out the dough. Jace moved over to Sebastian, who was finishing up the dishes, putting the last plate in the dish rack. Jace handed him a dry dish towel so that he could wipe his hands, and then wrapped his arm around Sebastian's waist, leaning his cheek against Sebastian's shoulder.

"Does she do this a lot?" Sebastian stage-whispered to Jace.

"Sometimes it's cleaning, sometimes it's cooking, sometimes it's baking, sometimes it's sewing—I woke up one morning and her and Magnus had the whole lounge in a complete tip with fabric and shit, making about a hundred dresses," Jace had a charmed look on his face as he stared at Clary's back, at the curls of her hair that were bouncing around her shoulders. "She doesn't do things half-assed."

"It wasn't a hundred dresses. Don't exaggerate," Clary replied, and she was swaying her hips a little, tipping her head from side to side, humming as she finished rolling out the dough. She rolled her eyes as she turned around to the look at the two boys. "You're such a drama queen, Jace," she told him, scrunching up her nose at him.

"It _looked_ like a hundred dresses," Jace mumbled against Sebastian's shoulder and the taller man snorted.

"Oh!" Clary's whole body jerked, as though she had been electrocuted. "Oh my god, you're both here—I can tell you about the present!" She practically ran out of the room, not seeming to care that she was covered in flour up to her elbows, with bits of dough on her fingers. Sebastian snorted again, and he rested his hip against the bench, turning his body outwards a little to accommodated for Jace's weight against his.

"She's one of a kind," Sebastian mumbled.

"Damn right," Jace laughed. They heard footsteps coming back down the hall and then around the corner to the doorway of the kitchen.

"Okay!" Clary had an excited look on her face, her eyes wide and glittering, and one hand tucked behind her back. "So, this was actually something that came up, like, two days before I ran into Sebastian and we talked about his birthday," Clary was wiggling her shoulders in the adorable way that she did when she was excited. Or before she ate something that she really liked. "And I had been trying to work things out after I found out before I told you, but then when Sebastian came along, I had an even _better_ idea and—"

"Clary?" Sebastian was looking at her, one eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Right, okay," Clary nodded. "Sorry, I'm just so _psyched_! This is going to be awesome!" She pulled her hand out from behind her back and started waving whatever it was in front of their faces.

The problem, of course, was the fact that she _was_ waving it, furiously.

So quickly that neither of them could see what it was she was trying to show them.

"What are you—" Jace cut himself off as he managed to grab her wrist and stop her from shaking what was in her hand. "Tickets?" He frowned at her as he finally saw what she was holding.

"Tickets to _Las Vegas_!" Clary squeaked, thrusting them forward properly so that Sebastian could see them as well.

"You brought us tickets to Vegas for my birthday?" Sebastian asked, sounding a little shaken.

"Well," Clary shrugged her shoulders. "Kind of. I mean—yes. I brought you and Jace tickets to Vegas, but my one was already paid for." Jace looked confused as he skimmed over the tickets, and saw that they were going for four nights. "But the reason that we're going to Vegas iiiiis..." she dragged out her word, doing more wiggling, and then struck jazz hands. "SFC!" Jace's eyes widened, while Sebastian just looked more confused.

"What's SFC?" He asked, while Jace lunged forward and threw his arms around Clary's shoulders. Clary squealed and hugged him back, the pair of them bouncing together. Even though Sebastian was confused, he couldn't help but grin, because he loved it when Jace loosened up like this, and it was usually around Clary that he did. When they finally broke apart, they both turned to him, to fill him in.

"SFC," Jace stated, clutching the tickets in his hands. "Sunflower Carnival in Vegas. It happens once every five years. It's this massive music festival in the dessert, and it's a fucking carnival and there's fireworks and there's so many people and the whole thing is just like—like an insane psychedelic experience."

"Probably because so many people are _on_ psychedelics," Clary grinned and then gave Sebastian an expectant look.

"So..." Sebastian licked his tongue over his lower lip and tilted his head to the side. "You brought us tickets to go to Vegas, to go to a music festival?"

"You only turn twenty-eight once, right?" Clary stepped forward and jabbed Sebastian in the side lightly a couple of times with her fingers. Sebastian couldn't help but smile, and Jace stepped up to his other side, his eyes glowing, obviously _very_ excited. "Besides, the tickets to the actual carnival are paid for, because they hired me as one of the freelance photographers. I was just sorting out extra tickets, that's what I was waiting for before I could tell you guys."

"You're into this...Right?" Jace sounded uncertain from Sebastian's lack of response.

In all honesty, it wasn't Sebastian's type of thing. He didn't drink, he didn't do drugs, and that was what a lot of these people did. He always played the security and the one keeping other people safe when they were in environments like this.

 _But_.

Jace and Clary would be there, and it would be a completely new experience, and Clary had gone out of her way to get him this gift that was probably one of the most thoughtful and definitely the most fun gifts he had ever gotten.

"It sounds incredible," Sebastian answered honestly, and Clary let out a squeal while Jace just grinned, and Sebastian ended up with his arms around both of them, pulling them in for a threeway hug.

 **Right! So, here's the super, super long A/N—sorry! I had a great Christmas and New Years time, not really doing much, just spending time at the beach and with my husband and with some of best friends. This year has started well, there's been a few bad days, but hey, happens to everyone. I hope your year has started just as good, and you spent it with family and friends if that's what you prefer, and that you spent it alone and quiet if that's what you prefer.**

 **I wanted to say that I managed to get around to most of peoples oneshots, at least the ones that struck a chord with me because some of prompts just aren't the type that I can write, and I had fun with the ones I wrote! You can still send me prompts or requests through the year, and I try and get to them near the end of the year when I focus on oneshots. Can be in a huge variety of fandoms, just ask me :)**

 **On with the recommendations!**

 **TV Shows: _Roswell: New Mexico_. Well. I loooved the original series, even if I can see a lot of flaws in it when watching it now back to when I was a teenager. I'm enjoying the reboot so far, I really like the change up in Liz, and Michael's relationship with Alex. I love that Tyler Blackburn from Pretty Little Liars is in it, and Michael Trevino from Vampire Diaries, because he was one of my favourite characters from VD. Anyway. Fingers crossed it goes well. And I intensely ship Max/Liz already, and not because I know they're supposed to get together, but because I love their chemistry, which is more than the original series, at least for my side. Oh and _The Runaways_ Season 2! I liked Gert a lot more in this one. Ooh, and _Sex Education_. That show is absolutely brilliant. Like, insanely brilliant. I'm so glad it's been renewed for another season. I also started watching _The Following_ for the hundredth time because this show is amazing.**

 **Music: _6 Figures_ by Kings, _Run Away With Me_ by Carly Rae Jepsen, _Old News_ by Mitch James, _Wasted_ by Jesse McCartney and _Bad_! by XXXTENTACION. Ooh, and _Saturday Nights_ by Khalid, _Bury A Friend_ by Billie Eilish and _Wild Enough_ by Elina.**

 **Movies: _Tomb Raider_ , which I watched for the second time the other week and I quite enjoyed it, a lot more than the first time I watched it. Alicia Vikander is a babe. Also _How To Train Your Dragon 3_. Holy shit. I knew this one was going to get me in the feels, but I didn't expect to cry twice. It was beautiful. Also the new _Robin Hood._ Maybe I'm biased because I love Taron Egerton, but I didn't think it was anywhere near as bad as what the reviews said. I know it wasn't great, but I still enjoyed it, and Marian was a badass.**

 **Now, I've got some questions! Thought I'd change things up a little this year.**

 **So; what is your favourite song right now? Mine would be a tie between _Run Away With Me_ by Carley Rae Jepsen and _Back To Life_ by Hailee Steinfield.**

 **What is...Your favourite movie that you've seen recently? Mine would be _Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse_.**

 **Aaaand what is your favourite fandom to read in? For me it would be a tie between the DC fandom and _Harry Potter_ right now, although it changes frequently.**

 **Talk to me, let me know what you thought and answer the questions if you feel inclined to!**


	12. Chapter 12

"Alright...So," Kaelie smirked up from where she was laying on her back on Clary's bed, pulling her lollipop out of her mouth with a slick _pop_ and pointing it at the red head. "Two guys, one girl and a trip to Vegas," she wiggled her eyebrows. "That sounds like a bad porno—and that's coming from a girl who _loves_ bad porno's, because they pay my bills." Isabelle snorted from where she was sitting further up on the bed, her legs underneath Kaelie's and propped up against Clary's bed, leaning against the wall.

"Not _everything_ is about sex," Clary rolled her eyes from where she was standing at her wardrobe, flipping through her long, _long_ line of dresses. "What about this one?" She pulled out a strappy blue dress that she had worn to another music festival, last year. It was bright blue and had barely any back, dropping open all the way down to her waist, held only together by a couple of criss-crossing straps, and there was a gap at the front as well, from between her breasts and down to her belly button, once again only held together with a criss-crossing strap.

"You say it's not about sex...But you're going to wear _that_?" Kaelie snorted and stuck the lollipop back in her mouth.

"Fuck you," Clary pulled the fingers playfully at Kaelie as she tossed the dress toward her bag in the corner, which was already overflowing, because she had brought three separate outfits to wear over the three days, and had brought glitter and coloured hair spray and a ridiculous amount of sequins, but she was still undecided, and so packing about three times the amount that she really needed.

"So what you're telling me is that you're _not_ going to have sex at this amazing festival where you are practically thrown drinks and pills?" Kaelie wrinkled up her nose.

"I didn't say that," Clary tossed back and Kaelie grinned.

" _Yesssss_ ," she cheered. "Crazy, wild sex, right?"

"Is there any other kind to have at a festival?" Clary laughed.

" _That's_ my girl," Kaelie grinned wider and did a little dance. Isabelle had been pretty quiet since they had gotten back to the house after going shopping with Clary that morning, but she was watching everything that was happening with a calculating expression. "Ooh, you've got wine, right? Or vodka?" Kaelie asked, sliding off the bed and slipping the lollipop back into her mouth and skipping out of the room without waiting for a reply. Isabelle watched her leave and then her eyes went back to Clary, who was know down on her knees and was pulling at the shoes on the racks at the bottom of her wardrobe.

"Who are you planning on having sex with?" Isabelle asked abruptly.

"Huh?" Clary asked from where her head was buried in the closet. Isabelle didn't reply for a moment, and then shuffled forward on the bed and swung her feet over the edge so that they were on the floor.

"Who are you planning on having sex with?" Isabelle repeated. Clary seemed to hear something in her voice because she pulled back, twisting herself around so that she was looking up at Isabelle.

"Have you got something you want to say?" Clary asked, and although the words sounded abrupt, her tone wasn't mean.

"Just that...I mean, is there something going on? With you and Jace and Sebastian? Is that why you're all going away together?" Her friend asked, chewing down on her bottom lip as she waited for Clary's response. Clary's eyebrows drew together as she stared at Isabelle, as though trying to figure out what Isabelle was thinking. Isabelle just stared back at her evenly and Clary sighed and sat down properly on the ground, pushing away some of the clothes that she had dumped on the ground.

"I haven't had sex with them, if that's what you're asking," Clary said slowly, before quirking her lips up in a smile, trying to lighten the mood that seemed to be tensing in the room. "Although that would be fucking hot, if we're being totally honest." Isabelle's lips twitched but her eyes were still serious. "Izzy, what's wrong? Why are you worried? This is meant to be _fun._ "

"Yeah, I know, I just—" Isabelle broke off with a sigh. "It's just been a long time since I've seen Jace in a relationship and he seems really happy with Sebastian."

"Yeah? I know?" Clary looked confused, and Isabelle licked her lips, because she _knew_ that Clary was being totally serious right now. She really didn't see the problem here, and she didn't get what Isabelle was trying to angle at. Isabelle sometimes wondered if she had ever actually known that Jace had been in love with her since they had gotten to know each other, because she knew that Jace had never told her, and she was pretty sure none of their friends had.

"You guys have so much vodka!" Kaelie sung out as she came back into the bedroom with a bottle in each hand and another under each arm, looking incredibly proud of herself. "Seriously, you've got a better selection than Jaz, and he works at a bar." She settled down on the ground beside Clary, placing down the four bottles of different flavoured vodka and then raised an eyebrow as she looked between the two girls. "Okay...The vibe in here feels a little weird." Isabelle cleared her throat and shifting her attention to Kaelie.

"Is Jaz the new guy you're seeing?" Isabelle asked, changing the subject. Kaelie seemed fine with that, shrugging as she picked up the first bottle of vodka and began unscrewing the lid.

"Yeah, Jasper. Or, he's one of the people I'm seeing. There's this chick, Annika, as well," Kaelie wiggled her eyebrows pointedly. "She's a total babe. And a twin."

"A twin?" Isabelle made a face. "What...What's that got to do with it?"

"She's _Jasper's_ twin," Kaelie grinned and Clary snorted, her eyebrows almost disappearing into her hairline.

"You've got some weird fetishes going on," Clary told her.

"It's not like it's ever at the same time! That would be weird!" Kaelie assured them and both Clary and Isabelle laughed.

"Yeah, okay, because that would be the _only_ weird thing in this whole situation," Clary pointed out and Kaelie just smirked before throwing back a mouthful of the fejoa vodka. Isabelle rolled her eyes and slid off the edge of the bed so that she was on the ground in front of Clary and Kaelie and reached out for one of the other bottles. Clary picked one up and handed it over Isabelle, and the dark haired girl gave her a smile that made Clary shoulders loosen in relief, glad that whatever issue Isabelle had seemed to have been smoothed over.

* * *

"I'm gonna have to take you shopping," Clary shook her head as she inspected Sebastian's luggage. She and Jace had gone out shopping the day before—which was mainly for Clary, even though she had enough clothes—but she had definitely gotten Jace to buy a few things that she deemed as right for their experience in just a few days. "You're about the same size as my brother, actually," Clary decided, looking Sebastian up and down critically, looking so serious that Sebastian couldn't help but make an amused face, with had Jace snorting from where he was sitting on the couch. "This is _serious_!" Clary insisted.

"Yes, it is," Jace agreed, trying to keep a straight face. Sebastian arched an eyebrow at him as Clary began pulling things out of his bag and Jace grinned at him before quickly composing his features.

"Why do need a hoodie?" Clary demanded. "You barely even need one living here, muchless in the middle of the desert in _summer time_." It was Sebastian's turn to let out a snort. "Half of this...It just doesn't go with the vibe that we're looking for here." She pulled out at least half of the clothes that Sebastian had packed.

"I feel like I should be offended by this," Sebastian noted as he moved to sit next to Jace on the couch, right up next to the other man. Jace slumped to the side a little, leaning against him, and Sebastian flashed him a smile.

"Don't be offended," Jace told him. "You know she's only taking stuff out of your bag because she wants to fit her extra clothes in there, so that she doesn't have to pay for extra luggage."

"Hey!" Clary's head jerked up. "That's not the only reason!" She pulled up a plaid shirt that Jace had seen Sebastian in before. It was a nice shirt, pulled over Sebastian's biceps in a way that made Jace's mouth water, although it wasn't really something to wear to a festival, Jace could understand that.

"That's one of my favourite shirts!" Sebastian protested.

"And unless you're willing to let me cut off the sleeves and tear off the buttons so your pretty chest is showing, then it's going to be remain your favourite shirt _here_ ," Clary told him as she threw it down on the chair before flouncing over to the couch, flopping down on the other side of him and throwing her legs over his and Jace's thighs. Jace's hand automatically went to rest on her ankle, his thumb gently pressing against her smooth skin. "You gotta go a little crazy, Seb."

"Crazy, huh?" Sebastian couldn't help but grin, Clary's happiness and energy was infectious.

"Yes," Clary smirked at him. Sebastian turned his head to look at Jace.

"Are you going 'a little crazy' as well?" He asked and Jace's face lit up.

"Fuck yeah I am," he replied and Clary let out a cheer, wiggling around where she was sitting, jostling both Sebastian and Jace with her legs. The two started talking, both of them loud and their words tripping over each other with such familiarity between them and Sebastian leaned back against the cushions on the couch. Jace didn't really let emotions like excitement show to just anyone, he usually acted like things didn't affect him too much, but there was just something when Jace and Clary were together that brought it out in him. Jace smiled a whole lot more and his face opened up and his eyes would glitter.

And Sebastian wasn't jealous.

He knew that he was special to Jace, he knew that because Jace would let him in and see him in his most vulnerable state, but he knew that Clary was special to him as well.

"Alright, so how crazy are we talking?" Sebastian asked when there was a lull in the conversation.

"Hm," Clary went quiet, picking up her phone from the back of the couch and tapping her thumbs on the screen. "Like this!" Clary turned her phone around and Jace laughed at the picture, which had Sebastian's head jerking back. It was a shirtless guy, who was wearing a multi-coloured fluro tutu with suspenders and a flowery crown with oversized, heart shaped gold sunglasses. "Or..." Clary turned her phone back around to bring up another picture. "This!" The next one was taken in during the night, and it looked as the guy was wearing a pair of speedos and a singlet that were completely made of fairy lights, everything glowing.

Sebastian actually looked a little concerned.

Clary let out a laugh and reached forward to give his hand a gentle squeeze, letting her hand rest there as she dropped her phone onto the couch beside her. Sebastian turned his hand to the side a little, so that her fingers were pressed against his palm.

"Don't worry," Jace nudged him with his elbow. "You don't have to go _that_ crazy." It felt a bit odd, Jace being the one to reassure Sebastian, since Sebastian felt as though that was generally his role when it came to relationships.

"Although I'm pretty sure neither of us would be opposed to seeing you in a speedo," Clary wiggled her eyebrows and Sebastian let out a laugh. "Anyway, we're getting up early to catch our flights, so I feel we all need to get some rest."

"You know it's only a two hour flight, right?" Jace raised an eyebrow at her. "And it's exactly the same time zone, so it's not like we're going to be jet lagged." Clary just made a face at them before pulling her legs off their laps and taking her hand back from where it was resting on Sebastian's and then picked up her phone.

"Alright, lover boys," she stood up and wiggled her fingers at them. "I'll see you in the morning." As she turned to walk past the couch and toward the hall, she turned back and jabbed a finger at Sebastian's bag. "I better not find out you put those clothes back in," she said, waving her finger at the pile of clothes beside the bag. "I have some dresses I want to put in there, and we'll find you some clothes once we get there." She looked like she was done when she remembered something and smirk. "Also, I notice there's a distinct lack of condom and lube in that bag, so...You might want to get onto that."

"Fuck _off_ ," Jace grumbled and Clary laughed before walking off. Sebastian and Jace exchanged a look, smiling at each other before going quiet, just enjoying each others company. After a few moments, Sebastian took a deep breath in through his nose and then reached out to lace his fingers together with Jace's.

"I like how you are when you're with Clary," he commented quietly. The soft expression on his face quickly fading and the corners of his lips tightening. "No, don't—" Sebastian turned himself to the side, folding one leg underneath him and throwing his arm along the back of the couch, behind Jace. "You know I'm not saying this in any kind of _bad_ way. I like it, I like how you act when she's around, you guys always have a really good chemistry between you." Jace didn't say anything, but it didn't look as though his eyes were shutting down and his expression was getting defensive, like it had the other times Sebastian had tried to talk to Jace about Clary. "All I'm saying...I wouldn't be opposed to see you two together," Sebastian added with a small smirk, trying to turn the tone of the situation. Jace didn't look totally relaxed, but his lips relaxed a bit.

"You trying to pimp me out?" He asked, his eyes softening at the edges.

"Hell no," Sebastian shook his head sharply and Jace actually looked a little surprise. "I don't want to see you with _anyone_ else. Just her. I would be totally okay with that." Jace blinked at him before leaning forward. Sebastian smiled against Jace's mouth, his hand moving from the back of the couch to cup that back of Jace's head, holding him firmly in place as his tongue parted Jace's lips and dipped into the warmth of his mouth. Jace shivered against him, and if they were at Sebastian's place, he would have taken it further right now, right on the couch. But they were at Jace's place, and there was someone who might come out and see them, and Sebastian knew for a fact that Clary would throw a shit fit if they had sex on the couch that she had just brought a few weeks ago. He pulled back, shifting his hand so that his thumb brushed over the corner of Jace's mouth.

"Why'd you stop?" Jace asked, his eyes a little bleary.

"Oh, I'm totally fine if you want me blow you out here," Sebastian grinned. "But if Clary comes out for a drink or something, I'm pretty sure we're both gonna be kicked out for violating her couch." Jace's eyes widened and he made a face.

"Ick, yeah, probably," he looked disappointed but nodded, before purposefully reaching out and rubbing the heel of his hand over the bulge in Sebastian's sweatpants. "Alright, let's go to my room...You can do that whole blowing thing when we get in there." Sebastian grinned and gave him one last kiss before getting to his feet and holding out a hand to help Jace up.

 **I've written this about four times now, and I'm just going to keep it simple.**

 **On the 15th of March 2019, there was a terrorist attack in my beautiful country, New Zealand. This is the first ever mass shooting on this level during peace time in the beautiful islands that I have spent my whole life in.**

 **This doesn't happen here. We don't have mass shootings. We don't have a fear of one another to the point where it drums up anger that turns to hate.** **In the words of our absolutely incredible Prime Minister, " _They are us_."**

 **We are all one people, and we can't let hate win.**

 **I hope you all spend time with people that you love and cherish, and I hope you never hold back to show this.**

 **Arohanui and Kia Kaha x**


	13. Chapter 13

"How did we end up carrying everything?" Sebastian muttered as he shoved his sunglasses back up his nose as they made their way through the busy airport. Jace let out a laugh from where he was a little behind Sebastian, pulling Clary's suitcase behind them, glad that it was on wheels. Clary had already skipped off in front of them, and Sebastian hoped that she was hailing them a cab. "Isn't this supposed to be my birthday celebration? Shouldn't you guys be waiting on me hand and foot?"

"Whining doesn't become you, Seb," Clary was suddenly in front of them again, grinning widely and eyes undoubtedly gleaming behind the gold framed, rose coloured sunglasses she was wearing, her hair piled on top of her head with a floral band holding it up there. "Did you want me to give you a piggy back?" She smirked and reached up to tap him on the nose gently before turning around and waving a hand behind her, indicating that they follow. "Come on, I got us a taxi!"

"And he's just waiting for us?" Sebastian frowned as he looked back at Jace, who didn't look surprised, shrugging a shoulder. Sebastian looked back into the crowds, where Clary had gone, but she had completely disappeared now. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"Clary's right," Jace moved to stand beside Sebastian, and there was an amused expression on his face. "Whining doesn't become you." Sebastian grimaced, feeling a little guilty that he was dragging the other two down around him, when they were meant to be on this weird, spontaneous adventure.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I don't like flying." Jace reached over and gave him a kiss that caught the corner of his mouth, and Sebastian blinked in surprise, all of sudden feeling in a whole lot of a better mood, given Jace didn't really _show_ affection in public. Jace took the lead and Sebastian followed him out of the busy airport. They got outside, and it was even hotter outside than it was inside, and Sebastian felt his good mood quickly disintegrated _again_. The cab that Clary had hailed was waiting not too far away, and she was waving excitedly at them, and he couldn't help but smile.

She looked adorable.

She was in a white dress with blue floral patterns, high heels white shoes with yellow laces, and a bunch of bracelets up one arm.

He had no idea how she looked so fresh, even though their flight had been delayed by two hours, and they had been stuck in an over heated airport for longer than expected, and then they were on a cramped plane where the air con really wasn't working as good as it could, and now they were in the _middle of desert_ , and she was standing there, looking like a fucking daisy.

" _Smile_ , Seb," Clary sung out as he reached them. "We'll be in an air conditioned, twentieth floor storey apartment that Jon has assured me is stocked full of alcohol."

"Sounds amazing," Sebastian told her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before moving around to the boot to help the cab driver to put their luggage inside. Clary got into the front seat of the car, which both boys were happy about, because neither of them really wanted to carry out a conversation right now. As soon as all of the doors shut in the car, the air conditioning washed over them, and Sebastian felt a whole lot calmer than he had just a few moments ago.

That, and the fact that Jace laced his fingers together with his, laying them down on the seat between them in the back of the cab.

Clary chatted idly to their driver after giving him the address, and then they were joining the lines of traffic trying to get out of the airport. Sebastian had never been to Vegas before, so he spent the whole ride looking out the window, although they weren't really in the heart of the city, so they didn't really see anything that was _too_ exciting.

Hopefully they would go on a scenic route later.

When they got to the apartment, Clary paid the driver, shooing away Jace and Sebastian's hands as they reached out to try and pay for their ride. The apartment building was beautiful, although very similar to many back home, the only difference was the heat that just seemed to be beating down on them.

Sebastian regretted wearing jeans.

"Alright!" Clary did a little bounce as the cab drove away and they turned to walk into the apartment. She had a swipe card for the front door of the building, which also worked in the elevator to take them up to her brothers floor.

"Have you been here very often?" Sebastian asked her as they whizzed upward, the elevator filled with their bags.

 _Mainly_ Clary's bags.

"Not for a while," Clary replied. "Last time I came here, it was when Jon first got together with his girlfriend. The bed in the spare room is right up against the wall, and so I could hear _everything_ ," she made a puking motion with her mouth that made Jace smirk as the doors slid open. They grabbed their things as they piled out. "Don't worry, I'll move the bed to the other side of the room so that I don't have to hear you guys going at it," she winked at Sebastian and grinned at Jace, who's cheeks reddened. "Although, I think we're all aware I won't have a problem with it." She left Sebastian and Jace adjusting their grips on the bags and exchanging looks. "Come on!" Clary called out from where she had reached the door of the apartment and was pushing it open.

"I just want to get out of these jeans," Sebastian sighed.

"We _told_ you not to wear them," Jace laughed and Sebastian made a face at him before grinning, because Jace was in such a good mood. Maybe it was the change of scenery that had the other man acting so light, or maybe it was excitement for what tomorrow was going to bring, but Sebastian liked it.

"Oh my god," Sebastian breathed out as he stepped into the apartment and the temperature dropped substantially. "This is amazing."

" _Yes_ ," Clary hissed out, dropping down on the couch just a few steps away from the door, and immediately beginning to undo her heels. "Okay, you guys take my brothers room," she pointed at the first door as she pulled off her first shoe and tossed it onto the rug. "And I'll take the spare one," she pointed her other shoe at the door just down from the first one, before throwing her other shoe on the ground. "Eesh," she breathed out, closing her eyes and slumping back into the couch.

"Has she actually run out of energy?" Sebastian stage-whispered to Jace and Clary lifted her hand to pull the fingers at him. Sebastian snorted and Jace grinned as he dropped the bags he was carrying to walk over the first door that Clary had pointed at and opened it.

"Nice," Jace whistled through his teeth and nodded. "This bed is huge."

"Jonathan tends to star fish," Clary commented, still with her eyes closed.

"So it runs in the family, then?" Jace grinned and Sebastian's eyebrows raised, surprised at the off-handed comment. Jace pretty much completely avoided any type of innuendo in reference to the fact he had had sex with Clary.

" _You_ talk loud enough in your sleep to wake people in the house next door when you've been drinking, so I really don't think that you're one to talk," Clary pointed out, opening her eyes and grinning at Jace before looking at Sebastian. "You've noticed, right?" Jace's eyes widened as he looked at Sebastian as well, and Sebastian made a clicking noise with his tongue, obviously trying to think of something to say.

"Fuck, I do, don't I?!" He cried out and Sebastian tipped his head to the side, unable to stop his laugh.

"Yeah, just a little," Sebastian leaned in and gave Jace a kiss, and Jace returned the pressure firmly, not seeming to mind that Clary was right there. "Alright, I'll put your stuff in your room," he said as he pulled away, grabbing Clary's suit case and then one of her two other bags and walked to the second door. As it opened, he stopped short and turned back to Clary.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Uh," Sebastian made a face and looked back inside the room, and Jace closed the distance between them and looked into the room as well.

"Um, Clary? This isn't a spare bedroom," Jace said. Clary frowned as she got up, making a face as she got onto her feet again, and she walked over to where they were standing, tip-toeing so that she could see past them and her eyebrows lifted.

"Right," Clary said slowly. "Okay," she licked her lips as she glanced around, as though trying to find a bed, and then she held up a finger. "I'm going to give my brother a call." Sebastian and Jace met eyes and shrugged as Clary pulled her phone out of her bra, tapping her fingers across the screen before putting it to her ear. It rung a few times, and Clary turned around to look around the small apartment, that felt strangely smaller now that Clary didn't have somewhere to sleep. The phone continued to ring in her ear, and Clary was worried that her brother wasn't going to pick up before there was a click and she heard some music on the other end of the line.

"Hey, Fuzz Ball!" Jonathan greeted her and Clary felt annoyance wash over her, as it usually did when it came to her brother, mixed in together with some love, generally about a fifty-fifty dose of each.

"Hey, Jon," Clary muttered. "I haven't had short hair in years, you really need to stop fucking calling me that."

"Never—so what's up?" Jonathan asked her, moving on quickly, obviously not wanting to be on the phone for any longer than necessary. Clary made a face, even though her brother couldn't see her, but he seemed to know. It was a weird sixth sense between the siblings. "I know you're sticking out your tongue and being very mature about this, but can you hurry up?"

"Wasn't actually sticking out my tongue, asshole," she replied.

"If you don't get on with it I'm going to hang up," Jonathan threatened and she sighed.

"What happened to the spare bed? We've just arrived and there's your room, but there's a desk and work out gear in the spare bedroom where I slept last time!" Clary told him, and she could feel Sebastian and Jace looking at her, so her eyes flicked over to the doors that lead out onto the small balcony.

"You saying that there is some kind of problem with your free accommodation?" Jonathan said playfully down the line. Clary rolled her eyes as she walked over to the sliding door and pulled it open, stepping out into the balcony and closing her eyes against the bright sun that she was shining directly on her.

"I'm just saying that you could have told me that there was only one bed," Clary replied.

"You said you're bringing two friends—to some crazy ass festival in the middle of the desert—and you're not planning on sleeping with them? How am I supposed to know that?" Jonathan snorted. "Anyway, me and my girl are on a _romantic_ getaway, I don't think that involves call from my brat of a sister, so I'm pretty much done here."

"Fuck you," Clary snipped.

"Love you too," Jonathan sung out before ending the call, and Clary rolled her eyes again before looking back inside to where Sebastian and Jace were on the couch, fighting over the TV remote. She was glad they were making themselves at home—because this was meant to be _fun_ , it was Sebastian's birthday getaway—and when she stepped back inside, Sebastian looked over at her, relinquishing his hold on the remote.

"Talking about whining not looking attractive..." he sung out and Clary narrowed her eyes at him.

"Jon thought that we were all together," she told them. "That's why he didn't even think to tell me that there wasn't a spare bed." Sebastian looked amused, raising his eyebrows, however Jace's cheeks just flamed red and he kept his eyes fixed on the TV, as though refusing to look at either of them. After a few moments, Sebastian shrugged and leaned back into the couch, one arm going around Jace, loosely hanging over his shoulders and then rested the other hand on Clary's knee. He didn't close fingers, so he wasn't gripping her, but was still pressed firmly against her bare skin, his thumb skimming over the curve.

"That's fine," he shrugged. "That bed is huge. We'll all share." He said it so casually that Jace's eyebrows shot up, and even though Clary could only see his profile, she knew that his eyes had widened, even though he was acting as though the screen was holding all of his attention. There was an old _CSI: Miami_ episode playing, and Clary's eyes flicked between the TV and Jace a few times before she arched an eyebrow at Jace.

"You _can't_ be that interested in this episode. You've seen it at least twice," she stated.

"Have not," Jace retorted, still not looking at her.

"Have too," Clary replied, beginning to smile. "You re-watch CSI's as much as I re-watch Disney movies."

"Do not," Jace replied quickly, although the tension in his shoulders was lessening.

"Do too," Clary smirked and Sebastian smiled at the pair of them. She looked back at the screen, tilting her head to the side. "This is the episode where H gets his son a job at the ME's office. But then he gets fired."

"No, he doesn't," Jace made a face as _finally_ glanced over at her. "And you know that. Tara lets him stay, even though he made a mistake."

"So you have seen it," Clary grinned and reached across Sebastian and punch him lightly on the arm, Sebastian's hand sliding over her knee, resting further up her thigh. The whole subject was light and almost nonsensical but Sebastian was letting it happen, knowing that she was working him up to being comfortable. Sebastian just waited, letting Clary lead the way. She always seemed like she was on a different level from the rest of them, not really caring about lines or boundaries, but she seemed to recognize that this was something important. "Will _you_ be okay if we share a bed?" She asked, and Jace swallowed hard, his eyes flicking to Sebastian before resting back on Clary.

"Yeah," he replied with a small smile. "It's okay." Clary smiled gently at him, before it turned to something more cheeky as she looked at Sebastian, clearly ready to move on from this conversation.

"Shall we order in some food before we start planning our outfits and make up for tomorrow?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows and Sebastian's face suddenly looked _genuinely_ concerned.

"Outfits and make up?!"

There was a laugh from Jace.

 **So my song recommendations this week... _Polygraph Eyes_ by Yungblud, I think it's incredible. Also the live cover version _I Will Follow You Into The Dark_ by Yungblud and Halsey, and this also shows incredible chemistry between them. So, Yungblud, real name Dominic Harrison...I totally understand that he's not everyone's cup of tea, but I adore him. He's only twenty-one and he has written some incredible songs. _Polygraph Eyes_ is about sexual assault and the consent issue that is so big right now. _Medication_ that talks about our heavily medicated society, and _Kill Somebody_ , which is a something of a visual representation of depression and anxiety, which hits hard for me. He's really open about his own mental illness and ADHD, and he's continually breaking down gender norms and sexual stereotypes—dude wears more pink that a Disney princess, rocks dresses and skirts, regularly makes out with his guitarist and has a beautiful relationship with Halsey. I recommend him so much, he's just so unapologetically himself and blunt and incredible, please, please, please check him out. **

**TV series and movies...I'm really enjoying _Bull_ and _Ray Donovan_ at the moment. Also, _Animal Kingdom_ , which I started watching for Finn Cole, who is also in _Peaky Blinders_ , and it's fucking amazing. So is _Peaky Blinders_ , though. So both of them. We also recently rewatched _Hairspray_ , which I adore. Haha. **

**Ooh, also! We have release date for the new _Veronica Mars_ series! I feel like I've been waiting a life time for it. And for _Big Little Lies_! I wasn't to keen on a second season just because the first one was complete and there was only one book, but I'm still excited for it. **

**I've gone to a couple of concerts this month; Anne Marie and Billie Eilish. Both of them had such incredible voices live, they sounded pretty much exactly like their studio recordings and they had such insane energy. Anne Marie seemed like a total sweetheart, full of smiles and giggles, and then Billie was just amazing, that girl is going places given she's gotten this far and she's only seventeen. The whole crowd for Billie was on their feet the whole time, even us in the seated section—she was just magnetic. Tickets for her were insane, we only just managed to get some in the last release.**

 **Ooh, and Drax Project have a new music video out for their song _Woke Up_ Late featuring Hailee Steinfeld. My hubby wasn't too happy, because it's got Liza Koshy in it and he finds her frustrating at hell. **

**Now for my questions! Okay...What is a ship, or multiple ships, that have broken your heart, or that have really made you feel just a little fucked up? Can be canon or not. My top one would have to be Hanna/Caleb from _Pretty Little Liars_. I absolutely fucking hated season 6 and 7 of _PLL_ , and I stopped watching it until they got back together, and even then, it actually felt like my whole stomach had been ripped out of my body when there was the whole Spencer/Caleb story line. And then the other two would be Landon/Jamie from _A Walk To Remember_ and Ian/Mickey from _Shameless_. Holy shit. My fucking heart. There are plenty of other couples that really hit me as well, Steve/Bucky from _Avengers_ , Alex/Michael from _Roswell: New Mexico_ , Bellamy/Clarke from _The 100_ , Logan/Veronica from Veronica Mars, Chuck/Blair from _Gossip Girl_ , Will/Alicia from _The Good Wife_ and Jane/Michael from _Jane The Virgin_ to name a few.**

 **Next one; what is your favourite colour? Super easy, right? Haha. Although I don't have one, so maybe it's not...Green or purple? Maybe? Haha.**

 **And then; are you preparing to be emotionally fucked up by _Avengers: Endgame_ , or are you completely indifferent? I'm seeing it in a couple of hours, and I tell you, I am fucked. And I am _going_ to be so fucked. I've looked up every spoiler possible, watched a bit of the leaked footage and I'm still not prepared. If you guys want any spoilers or anything, just message me, and I'll try to retain everything through my hysteria.**

 **Just as my last point, my love and heart goes out to those in Sri Lanka. My cousin and I cried when waking up and reading what happened and I can't even fathom how those who were involved and directly affected are feeling right now.**

 **Love to you all xx**


	14. Chapter 14

Clary was the first one to go to bed, and Sebastian and Jace went into the room a couple of hours later after watching TV and making out a little on the couch. Jace snorted, not looking surprised at all at the fact that she was taking up as much of the bed as her small body could.

"She always sleep like this?" Sebastian asked with a grin.

"As long as I've known her," Jace replied. Sebastian undressed in the dark, pulling on a pair of light sweatpants before moving to the side of the bed where Jace was standing.

"Do we just...Roll her?" Sebastian asked, tilting his head to the side as he took her in. There were five pillows on the bed, and in one way or another, she was using them all, one was tucked under her leg, one was pressed up against her back, one was by her stomach and she was curled around it, and her head was resting on two of them, and she was sprawled out in the middle of the bed, arms stretched out.

"She's a deep sleeper. She'll be fine," Jace said with a shrug, but he didn't move, and Sebastian followed his lead, remaining still. After a few moments, Sebastian nudged Jace with his shoulder.

"Did you just want to take a side each?" Sebastian suggested and Jace dipped his head in a nod.

"Yup," he replied, and Sebastian gave him a quick kiss before moving to the other side of the bed.

Maybe it should have felt strange how comfortable it was, and how Sebastian tucked an arm underneath Clary's shoulders and reached out toward Jace, and Jace leaned against it, but both of them were tired, and now really didn't seem like the time to think too much about it.

* * *

Jace was the last one up the next day, and the whole apartment smelt like the mixture of hairspray and perfume. His nose wrinkled at the smell and buried his face back in the pillow that he must have somehow managed to wrangle away from Clary last night. He must have gone back to sleep, because when he woke up again, the smells weren't quite as strong anymore, and Sebastian was sitting on the end of the bed without a shirt on. Jace blinked slowly before rolling over and looking down toward the end of the bed, to where Clary was standing in front of Sebastian, tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth and eyebrows drawn together intensely.

And she looked...Incredible.

The strong smell of hairspray must have been some other spray that she was putting in her hair, because it was now almost entirely silvery-purple, and half her hair was out, down her back, and the other half was in two bunches on top of her head. There were streaks of glitter through her hair and Jace just _knew_ that it was going to get absolutely everywhere, but that was honestly one of the last things on his mind right now. She had gems arching over her eyebrows, and then underneath her eyes, and she had on pale purple lipstick. Jace had to sit up to take in the rest of what she was wearing. It was a bra thing, all purple and silver sequins, that only covered exactly what it needed to, and there was more glitter over her chest and collarbones, a few more gems mixed in. She had silvery booty shorts with _more_ glitter on her legs, and a pair of light purple shoes that had ribbons that tied up her calves.

"Shit," Jace managed to get out and Clary looked up from whatever it was she was doing with Sebastian.

"You're awake!" She grinned at him, and...Everything about her glittered even more. Her eyes and her smile and...Jace blinked again.

"What time is it?" He asked, trying to push back those thoughts that were quickly rising.

"Not too late. Around eleven, I think," Sebastian asked from where he was sitting. "The shuttle leaves just after twelve."

"Okay," Jace rubbed his hand over his face, yawning as he did so, and then pushed back the covers. "Did she convince you to wear glitter too?' He asked with an amused smile, which dropped when Sebastian turned to him. There _was_ glitter, although nowhere near as much as Clary was wearing, and she had mainly worked with his eyes, framing them in dark kohl, making them look a lot bigger, and there was some glitter dusting his cheekbones and his lips looked pinker than usual. "I thought you weren't going to do any of this shit," he murmured and Sebastian suddenly looked concerned.

"What? Don't you like it?" Sebastian asked and Clary reached out to flick Jace on the arm, and he noticed that her nails were painted all blue and purple as well.

"What— _no_ , that's not it. It's..." Jace blinked, because that was the exact _opposite_ of what he was thinking. "It's...It's fucking great. Honestly. I just didn't think you wanted to do this and I don't want you to do stuff that you're not comfortable with." Sebastian's face relaxed and he shrugged a shoulder.

"Might as well throw myself into this, right?" He asked, and Jace could see that he wasn't bothered, he didn't look quite as intimidated as he had when Clary was showing him the pictures the other night. "You gonna let her do your make up as well?" Sebastian asked with a cheeky wink and Jace grinned.

"Hell yeah."

* * *

Jace didn't remember much of his first day—and night—at SFC.

He remembered the shuttle ride there, which is when alcohol was first starting to be passed around, and while Clary had shaken her head and said that she needed to keep her head since she was taking photos, and he remembered the first few hours, but he doesn't remember the day turning into night or any of the concerts that they saw after that. Clary's camera bag around her shoulder looked out of place with the fairy-esque outfit that she was wearing, but she made sure to get some photos with both of them without it.

Everything got a little blurry around the time he took some ecstasy.

"Do you think he's going to wake up and remember anything?" Clary giggled as Sebastian managed to get Jace into bed.

"I'm not really sure if he will _want_ to remember the fact he did not one, not two, but _three_ keg stands and then let a drunk woman who looked like she could be about fifty do body shots off him," Sebastian stated and Clary snorted as she leaned over to pull the blanket over Jace.

The make up that Clary had put on him this morning was a complete mess, and Sebastian and Clary had considered putting him in the shower, but he had barely even been able to keep his eyes open when they were on the shuttle back to the city, and so they had figured that he could shower in the morning. He was sweaty and sticky, but so were they, and they could all just deal with it for a few hours of sleep before they got up in the morning. Jace didn't seem to mind either, because his whole body had slumped as they had gotten off the shuttle and carried him into the apartment, and he was already snoring by the time that they had put him onto the bed.

"How you feeling?" Sebastian asked, looking over at Clary.

"A little wired still," Clary rolled her shoulders and bounced them a few times.

"You want to share a joint before we go to bed?" He suggested and Clary nodded. They left Jace in the bedroom and seemed to decide silently that they were going to sit out on the balcony. There was a small table and two chairs on the balcony, but Sebastian sat down on the concrete balcony and slipped his legs underneath the railing, dangling them over the edge. Clary's eyes widened from where she was standing and Sebastian laughed as he looked back up at her. "You scared?" He teased her lightly.

"We're twenty stories up," Clary stated. "Logically I know that we're safe, but, come on," she gave him a pointed look and Sebastian gave her a smile, patting the concrete beside him. Clary seemed to consider it for a moment before letting out a breath and then sitting down next to him, sliding her legs under the bottom rail next to Sebastian, but she leaned back so that she wasn't looking out at how high they were.

Sebastian pulled out a baggie from his back pocket, which he had taken with them to the festival and already shared a joint with Jace at the festival, and he began rolling a joint, while Clary began taking her hair out of the bunches that they were tied in. She had already had to re-do them about five times today, but they had still looked cute, even if her glitter and the gems on her face had sort of been spread around, out of the patterns that she had originally put them in.

"Are you going to wash all the colour out?" Sebastian asked, nodding at the purple and silver spray that she had coated her hair in.

"Yeah, it's already all starting to come out," Clary said as she held up her hands, and there was a sheen of silver on her fingers. She lifted it up from the nape of her neck, and there was purple and silver on the skin of her neck and dusting her shoulders, and the hair underneath was looking darker again, close to it's normal red. "I might try and get some more out with a wet cloth before I get into bed." She made a face. "We'll have to change my pillow case tomorrow."

"I'm sure we'll need to change the sheets tomorrow, given all the glitter," Sebastian waved a hand at himself and Clary grinned at him.

"Jace liked the glitter," she noted, reaching over to nudge him. "I saw his eyes when he looked at you." Sebastian smiled as he lifted the joint to his lips, and then the lighter, not replying to her. Clary managed to get the last elastic out of her hair and put them both around her wrist, and then she closed her eyes, tipping her head backwards and enjoying the gentle breeze, although it was warmer than she hoped it would be. The smell of weed was thick in the air, and it was comforting and familiar to Clary, and Sebastian had nudge his leg against her thigh to get her to open her eyes again, which felt heavy. "Thanks," she murmured as she took the joint from between his fingers.

"I'm gonna sleep well tonight," Sebastian noted.

"Fuck yeah. And then we'll do it all again," Clary replied, her voice a little strained as she talked out of the corner of her lips before letting out the stream of smoke. When she went to hand the joint back to Sebastian, his face was soft, and he reached out with one hand. Clary blinked slowly as his hand went to her hair, carding through it gently before pulling back, and he was holding a blue gem in his hand.

"It was in your hair," he said quietly and Clary nodded, handing the joint back to him. They were quiet, which wasn't something that Clary really _was_ , and the tension was...Different. Maybe it was because they were both hyped up on the day that they had had, or maybe it was because they both knew on at least a physical level they were attracted to each other, but Clary could tingles running through the side of her body that was pressed up against Sebastian's. Once they finished the joint, neither of them moved, even though Clary's eyes were taking longer and longer to open, every time she closed them.

"Tell me something about yourself," Clary suddenly said, turning to Sebastian. He pursed his lips together, eyes narrowing as he thought.

"You know how I'm taking classes?" He began, and Clary nodded.

"Yeah, you said it was a management course? So that you could look at moving up in the job you're in now?" She remembered.

"Yeah," Sebastian rubbed a hand through his hair, and there was a shower of glitter that fell on his shoulders, which was kind of adorable. "It's...It's because I don't want to be like my dad." Clary's eyebrows raised at the admission. "I mean, it's not like that's a big secret, to people who know me, because my dad is a fucking asshole. He's a drop kick drunk who broke his back about a year after I was born and just never went back to work again. He lived off the money that mum made at three jobs that she was working—at one point she was working four. I got a paper run when I was seven, and the money went straight into his bank account, I never saw any of it. Then I got a job mowing lawns when I was ten, and when some of them paid me in cash and I refused to give it to him, he gave me this," Sebastian pushed back the hair that was flopped over his forehead, and there was a small scar that ran along his hairline, that Clary hadn't seen before. "He never made anything of himself, and once I was old enough to leave home, I did, and mum got out a few years later, and he's alone, and a drunk, and has no qualifications and no accomplishments."

"You don't want to be like him," Clary surmised quietly.

"Yeah," Sebastian swallowed hard, and Clary reached out for his hand, giving it a squeeze, and Sebastian squeezed back. "I'm scared to end up like him." Clary made a face, because she could relate to what Sebastian was saying, but nowhere on that scale. Neither of her parents had ever lifted a finger to her, and the fact that Sebastian had grown up like that, and had still turned into the caring man she knew now, made her proud of him. Hearing him say that his father was a drunk as well explained why she was pretty sure she had never seen him drink.

"You won't be," Clary told him determinedly. "I've only known you for a couple of months, but I've already seen how hard you work, and how seriously you take your career, which is obvious from the fact that you have gone back to school, to take classes. And I see how much you care about Jace, so you would _never_ treat him like your dad treated your mother. And I couldn't see you _ever_ hurting a child. Or _anyone_." Her breathing was coming out a little harder once she finished, and Sebastian was smiling at her. It wasn't a big smile, but it was happy, and she could see the warmth in his eyes. He shifted his arm, taking his hand away from Clary's and wrapping it around her shoulders, drawing her in closer. Clary leaned against his side, and she felt him kiss the top of her head. "You would never hurt Jace," Clary repeated, and Sebastian knew that she believed that. If she ever had any doubts, he knew for a fact that she would make them clear.

"No, I don't think I ever could..." he mused, his voice a little muffled because his mouth was still pressed against her hair. "I want him...And you...To be a part wherever it is that you've got..." Clary didn't tense or pull away at that, even though the meaning was a little ambiguous, and Sebastian wasn't sure if he was surprised by that or not.

"So..." Clary began after a long moment. "Is this the part where I ask you what your intentions are toward my best friend?" She giggled at her own question and Sebastian smiled as he pulled away from her, although his arm was still over her shoulders. Clary turned to look up at him and Sebastian arched an eyebrow.

"Is that the right way to phrase your relationship with him?" He asked quietly and Sebastian's smile faded. "Because I get the impression that there's something a bit more going on there." Clary's eyebrows began to pull together slowly, as though trying to process what he was implying, but it was nearly four in the morning, and they were both tired, and now really wasn't the best time to have any kind of deep discussion like this, even though this was one of the first times that they had connected like this. "You don't have to answer now," he told her, leaning forward and kissing her again, although this time, it was on her cheek, just above her mouth.

He saw Clary swallow hard and there was confusion in her eyes.

"Let's go to bed," he murmured and Clary nodded, letting him help her to her feet and lead the way back inside, and to the bed where Jace was already sleeping.

 **I don't really have the energy for a paragraph thing sorry. I've been fucking spiraling for the past six weeks or so, although I guess I had my birthday? Which was okay?**

 **Um... _Nightmare_ by Halsey is a fucking anthem and I don't know how many times I've listened and cried to it in the past day and half it's been out.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the update.**


	15. Chapter 15

The night of the second day of the festival was a bit more successful for Jace. He actually remembered the whole thing, and was pretty alert the whole time, just having a couple of beers. Sebastian and Clary seemed to get on even better than they had before, which made Jace wonder if he had missed something, but both of them were important to him, so he liked that they were becoming important to each other.

Clary's outfit today was a pair of cut off, bright green shorts and a tiny, sheer shirt than tied together underneath her bust, and it was clear that she wasn't wearing a bra. Her hair was sprayed with blue and green, and there was all new glitter arranged on her face, even though there was still glitter all over her neck and arms from last night, as Jace had predicted.

Afterwards, they caught a bus back into the city, like they had last night, although Jace actually remembered it this time. Sebastian and he were in one seat, while Clary was in front of them with a girl who had bright blue hair that had probably been braided really nicely that morning when she had first gone to the festival, but now was a big tangled mess. Clary was laughing and talking animatedly, because of _course_ she was, because she was _Clary_ , and she was a little drunk, sort of just in that tipsy stage like Jace was, and Sebastian looked happy and just a bit tired, resting his head against the window and closing his eyes every few minutes.

As they got to the apartment building, Clary danced in front of them as they left the elevator, swiveling her hips as she skipped and walked toward the door, waving her arms around her head, the strap of her camera thick against the back of her neck.

Once they got inside, she convinced Jace to take a few tequila shots with her, not asking Sebastian which Jace thought was odd, even though he had never actually seen Sebastian drink before. They threw back the shots, neither of them reacting too much to the burn in their throat, and Sebastian grinned as he watched them. Clary did a few twirls as she opened the sliding door to the balcony, leaning against the railing and taking in a few deep breaths.

"You having a good time?" Jace asked as he moved over to where Sebastian was sitting on the long couch. His eyes were a little bloodshot and he was just a touch unsteady on his feet. Sebastian grinned, reaching forward to grab Jace's wrist and giving it a firm tug so that Jace tumbled forward, onto Sebastian's lap. Jace's cheeks flushed but he let Sebastian arrange him over his lap, so that his legs were on either side of Sebastian's thighs, and Sebastian cupped one side of Jace's neck, bringing him forward so that their lips came together. Jace's whole body felt as though it was melting and everything else in the room faded out as he focused on the feeling of Sebastian's mouth against his. Sebastian's hand on the back of his neck was warm and heavy and his fingers were stretching out to curl into Jace's shaggy hair. Jace slipped one of his hands underneath the shirt that Sebastian was wearing, scratching lightly at the skin of his stomach.

Neither of them were paying attention to anything else that was going on around them until Clary tripped over the corner of one of the dining room chairs as she tried to get her camera out of it's case. Jace looked over at her, eyes a little bleary, and he felt a shiver run through his body as his eyes met hers.

Her green eyes were darker than normal, her pupils blown, and it was clear that she liked what she was seeing.

Sebastian glanced between the two of them, the hand on Jace's neck moving to touch his chin, gently guiding it back to his, and Jace let his eyes move from Clary, back to Sebastian, and he heard Clary moving just a few feet away from them.

There was no flash on her camera, she had obviously turned it off, but the heard the clicking sound as she snapped photos.

Sebastian didn't seem to mind that they were putting on a show, and the fact that Sebastian's hands were on Jace's body while Clary's eyes were on both of them seemed to make Jace's skin prickle even hotter than usual. Sebastian pushed off the strange blue vest thing that Jace had worn that day, and then tugged the shirt over Jace's head so that he was naked from the waist up, and Sebastian scratched his fingernails lightly down Jace's back.

"Shit," Jace hissed out, his back bowing at the contact before Sebastian's hands rested firmly on Jace's ass and their mouths came together again. Jace set up about unbuttoning the shirt that Sebastian was wearing—a lilac, glittery thing that Clary had said she specifically brought for him—when Sebastian pulled back. It was just a little bit, just so that their spit-slick mouths were brushed together, but he was still able to speak.

"You want Clary to join?" Sebastian asked softly, dipping his head forward a little, kissing Jace's chin, and then nibbling at his jaw lightly, teeth pressing against sensitive skin. "You want her kissing you?" There was a whimper from deep inside Jace. "You want her kissing me?" This time it was a groan from Jace and he actually jolted in Sebastian's arms. He opened his eyes and Sebastian smiled at him, giving him a quick kiss on the corner of his mouth before he looked toward Clary and held out a hand to her.

Her eyes were wide as she lowered the camera.

Jace looked toward her as well, the lust clear in his face.

Clary blinked before putting her camera down on the table and stepping forward, taking Sebastian's hand and linking their fingers together. Sebastian didn't pull her closer like he had with Jace, he let her come at her own pace.

She didn't move again until Jace held out his hand as well.

Once Clary took Jace's hand, she practically melted onto the couch and into their sides. Sebastian's hand let go of hers to go around to the back of her neck, gently gripping her there and drawing her in closer. As her lips met together with Jace's, she vaguely heard Sebastian exhaling heavily, but her main focus was on Jace's mouth.

It had been a while since they had kissed, and Clary had forgotten just how good it was.

Kissing Jace always weirdly felt like resetting.

It felt like going back to the best person, maybe the person she belonged with, even if she had never admitted that to anyone, even herself. They had only slept together a couple of times, but they had kissed a few more, and Clary had always loved it.

The hand on the back of her neck applied pressure but it wasn't forceful or controlling, just heavy enough to remind her that it was there, and Clary felt a shiver run up her spine as one of Jace's hands moved to rest on her bare knee. Jace's tongue touched against her lips and she parted them, letting him in, and she could feel him move, and she wondered if he was grinding down on Sebastian for friction. She tilted her head to the side, another shivering running through her as Sebastian moved, and then there were lips on her cheek, against her ear, nibbling and kissing, and she pulled back from Jace just a little so that she could look between them.

All three of them were so close now, their noses all nearly bumping together, and their eyes all held a similar expression, hazy and lustful.

Clary twisted her head to the other side, meeting Sebastian's lips, and she heard a noise from Jace. As her and Sebastian kissed deeper, she heard another noise, definitely a hum of approval. Sebastian lead the kiss, it wasn't a back and forth like it was with Jace, which Clary liked. Usually she liked being the one in charge, but it was also nice having someone who confidently lead the way, especially when they had lips like Sebastian, and knew how to kiss as well as he did.

Not better or worse than Jace, just different.

When Clary pulled apart, she looked down, taking in a few shaky breaths to try and centre herself. As she opened her eyes again, she realized that she was looking down at both of the mens laps, where their groins were pressed together, where they were both obviously aroused, and she had to close her eyes and take in another few breaths before looking up, eyes darting between both of them.

"Are you sure about this?" She asked, and while she was looking between both of them, the question was mainly directed at Jace, and everyone knew it. Sebastian gave here a small smile but he didn't answer, looking at Jace and waiting. Jace's brain was feeling a little fuzzy and he definitely knew it wasn't working in all the right ways right now, but the answer seemed pretty simple.

He loved Clary.

He was pretty sure he loved Sebastian.

Why wouldn't he be sure about this?

"Yeah," Jace breathed out, not thinking about all the other components that might come into this later, influenced by lust and alcohol and also just by wanting to finally act and not _overthink_ things. He leaned in to kiss Clary again, but only briefly, before kiss Sebastian. Sebastian thrust his hips upward and Jace let out a moan, his lips falling away from Sebastian's and head resting on Sebastian's shoulder. "Fuck," he muttered.

"Did we...Want to move somewhere else?" Clary suggested hesitantly, and Sebastian looked at her knowingly, hoping that she wasn't going to be this hesitant the whole time. It was clear that they were crossing a line—her and Jace. They had slept together before, Sebastian knew that, Jace had told him, but it had been a while, and Sebastian was pretty sure that things had developed even more since then. They definitely had on Jace's side, and Sebastian was sure they had on Clary's side as well, even if she hadn't been ready to admit that to anyone, including herself.

"Let's go to the bedroom," Sebastian agreed quietly and Jace nodded. Clary got up first, feeling unsteady on her feet and it had nothing to do with the alcohol, and she resolutely did not look at the two other men as she went into the bedroom. Her fingers went to the tie of her shirt, underneath her bust, and she tugged at it, wondering if she should undress herself when suddenly there were warm hands on her bare waist.

" _Shit_ ," Clary breathed out and Jace came around to stand in front of her, obviously Sebastian behind her with his hands on her waist. Jace looked as though he had taken a few breaths himself to regain control, and as he towered over her. Jace's fingers came up, trailing over her cheekbones, and it made Clary's stomach dip downward and her heart beat faster, the look in his golden eyes making her knees weak.

"You're so beautiful," Sebastian whispered in Clary's ear, breath warm and sweet against her sensitive neck. "So beautiful." Clary squirmed against him, one hand coming back to twist into his hair and she heard Sebastian groan. She pressed back against him and she could feel his cock against her ass. Jace's fingers were still touching her face, and she closed her eyes as they touched her lower lip before they reopened and they met eyes.

Jace swallowed hard before leaning in and kissing her again.

Sebastian's lips were on the curve of her neck, biting gently and flicking his tongue, and Jace's lips were on her own, and Clary could already feel herself soaking through the thong that she was wearing under her tiny shorts.

They helped one another undress, sometimes slow, sometimes quick, like when the shirt that Jace was wearing got tangled because it had some weird lacing at the back and so Sebastian just ripped right through it and Clary had let out a loud laugh. Jace had ended up naked on the bed while Sebastian finished undressing Clary, taking off the skin tight shorts that she was wearing, along with her thong, and then turning her around in his arms so that she was facing him. Jace's eyes resting on her perfect ass for a moment before lifting his eyes to watch her and Sebastian kiss.

The pair of them looked gorgeous together.

As would be expected.

Jace's fingers itched to get around Clary's camera and take a photo of the two of them together, and after a moment, he ducked out of the room, crossing over to where she had left her camera, and when he came back, Sebastian raised an eyebrow at him. Clary's eyes widened when she saw the camera in his hand, turning a little in Sebastian's arms, and Jace saw the colour rise in her cheeks, which was normal, since she wasn't usually the total focus of the camera.

"Kiss," he mumbled as he lifted the camera up to look at the screen. Sebastian's big hand rested against the side of Clary's neck, a thumb pressing gently under her chin and encouraging her face upward to meet his, and when their lips came back together, her lips closed and she seemed to forget all about the camera.

By the time the three of them made it onto the bed—Clary's camera safely on the set of drawers—both men were leaking steadily onto their stomachs, and Clary's thighs were clenching together to try and provide some type of friction. Sebastian encouraged Clary to straddle Jace, sitting over his waist with her knees pressed against his hips, and Sebastian sat beside them, one hand resting on Clary's lower back and the other on Jace's shoulder.

Clary came by rubbing herself over Jace's cock, shaking against Sebastian's shoulder from no other stimulation that her clit against Jace. When she came, Sebastian tugged at her hair, tipping her head back so that he could kiss her mouth and Jace's hand reached between Sebastian's leg and curled his fingers around the blondes cock.

"Shit, Jace," Sebastian hissed against Clary's mouth, and she pulled back to look down at Jace's hand wrapped around Sebastian's. Her green eyes were wide through the mess of curly red hair, and she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, shuffling down a little further on Jace's thighs so that his cock was no longer trapped against her wet sex. She circled her own fingers around Jace, and for a moment, his rhythm faltered around Sebastian as her small hand began to pump up and down. His cock was wet from her own orgasm and his pre-come, making the slide easy and slick. Clary's eyes darted between Sebastian's cock and Jace's face, chewing down on her bottom lip, and Jace's eyes rolled back into his head at how fast his orgasm was coming on.

"Fuck," Jace groaned, his toes beginning to curl and the muscles in his thighs jumping. Clary's hand worked faster, and she remembered Jace liked a little pain mixed in, digging her thumb in at the base of his cock before she twisted her hand upward, and her other hand touched his sac, tugging not-so-gently. Jace hissed, and both Sebastian and Clary could see that he was close to coming.

"I wanna taste you, babe," Sebastian whispered as he shuffled around, knocking Jace's hand off his cock as he moved into a crouch so that he could lower his mouth toward Jace's cock. "Wanna taste Clary on you." Clary's thighs clenched again, tightening on either side of Jace's thighs, and she moved the hand that had been on Jace's sac to between her leg. Sebastian glanced at her, seeming to know exactly what sort of affect his words were having on Clary, before his mouth took in the glistening head of Jace's cock.

" _Fuck_ ," Jace repeated with another groan, his head dropping with a thud to the wooden headboard behind him. Clary kept moving her hand, even if the movement was a bit sloppy because she had pushed two fingers inside herself and was bouncing up and down just a little on Jace's thighs. Sebastian had a hand between his legs and was jacking himself off in time with his mouth moving up and down over Jace, and Clary came again, just before Jace did. The golden haired man arched off the pillows, groaning and grabbing at Sebastian's hair, his other hand reaching out to cover the one Clary had around him. Sebastian came a few moments later, and he was also the first one to recover, to go and get them something to clean up with.

"Shit," Clary mumbled from where she was laying in between Sebastian and Jace, the room now dark and three of them under a light sheet, the blanket shoved down to the bottom of the bed. Everything that she had just done was settling in, sinking into her bones, and she blinked up at the ceiling, feeling very tired, but still _very_ aware.

After a few moments, Jace's hand reached for hers, curling his fingers lightly together with hers. Clary tightened her fingers around his, and then mimicked the movement with Sebastian, and he held her hand, with his thumb pressed against her pulse point.

She fell asleep almost instantly.

 **Um...My song recommendations for this week would be _Hitchhiker_ by Demi Lovato, _All You Need To Know_ by Gryffin featuring Calle Lehmann, _Rollercoaster_ by The Jonas Brothers and _All This Time_ by Drax Project, which has just officially been released. The studio version doesn't quite hold up to the live version, it's like there's too much synth and they tried to downplay how powerful the sax it's, which is the best part of the song. I've got this recording of when we saw them at smaller concert, at a club, and the whole atmosphere is fucking amazing when this song comes on, if we're friends on Facebook or Snapchat and you want a copy, let me know and I'll send it through :) But I still recommend the version that's out there on Youtube and Spotify.**

 **Moviewise... _John Wick 3_ was incredible, as expected. I bawled by eyes out in _Rocketman_ , but it was so, so good. I adore Taron Egerton and Richard Maddon, and they played their roles so well. I don't recommend the new Ted Bundy film, tbh. I was looking forward to it, I love Zac Efron and Lily Collins, and Ted Bundy is a fascinating study subject, but...I just felt like it glorified him so much, and it honestly made me feel a bit sick. TV shows I would recommend would be _Madam Secretary, Harlots_ and _High Seas_. Also, did anyone watch the first episode of _Euphoria_? It is absolutely fucking amazing. I bawled my eyes out and my heart hurt and there were parts that hit a little close to home, but shit, it's so fucking good.**

 **Lyric of the week...' _My daddy put a gun to my head/Said if you kiss a boy, I'm gonna shoot you dead/So I tied him up with gaffa tape and I locked him in a shed/Then I went out to the garden and I fucked my best friend_ '...**


	16. Chapter 16

**Merp, I've kinda lost track of my updating schedule? *Throws updates and internet cookies***

Sebastian was the last one to wake up on the third and final day of the festival, which was unusual for him, because he was usually an early riser. He blinked and rolled to the side, reaching out a hand for the warmth of a body next to him, but there was nothing but cool sheet, and he frowned, blinking again before opening his eyes properly and looking blearily around the room. Sun was coming through the gap in the curtains, and the room was heating up, and so he could tell that it was going to be another warm day, but he was more interested in knowing where the other two people he had been sharing the bed with. Sebastian pulled himself up to a seated position and then he saw Jace through the doorway, standing in the lounge, and the golden haired boy was already wearing a bright purple shirt and a pair of glaringly white cut off jean shorts, although it didn't look like his make up and hair was done yet.

"He's awake!" Jace hissed, probably not as quietly as he thought he was. A moment later, Clary appeared, and she was holding a plate with a small cake on it. It was clearly home made, and the icing had been done by either Clary or Jace because it was a little shaky in the little flowers around the edges and where _Happy Birthday Sebby_ was spelt out over the middle.

But it was damn perfect.

"Shit," Sebastian was surprised by the lump in his throat as Jace pulled out a lighter, to light the single candle that was stuck in the middle of the cake, and Clary handed him the cake, helping him balance it on his knees before she climbed onto the bed beside him. Jace sat down on the other side and gave him a small smile, as though he had noticed how affected he was.

"You have to make a wish," Clary stated. Sebastian nodded and then drew in a breath to blew out the candle but she made a noise.

"What?" Sebastian arched an eyebrow at her.

"Is it a good wish?" Jace asked with a grin and Sebastian turned to look at him.

"Huh?" Sebastian gave him a confused look.

"You only get one birthday wish a year," Jace sounded as though he was repeating something he had heard more than once. "You have to make sure it's a good wish." He grinned past Sebastian, at Clary, and it wasn't hard to guess where Jace was had heard that from before. It sounded like something Clary would say. Sebastian looked back at the cake, took another moment to think, and then he closed his eyes and blew out the candle. Clary wiggled around on the bed next to him and clapped her hands and Jace leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll give you a happy birthday blow job at some point," Jace whispered.

"Oh, how nice of you," Sebastian snorted. Clary grinned, and then she was taking the plate from Sebastian and walking back into the kitchen. Jace got off the bed and waited for Sebastian to get up as well, not trying to hide the fact that he was checking Sebastian out, who was still naked after their activities last night. Jace didn't seem...He didn't seem stressed or as though he was over-thinking things, like Sebastian thought that he might have been, but the older man still reached out and circled his fingers tightly around Jace's, pulling him in close for a proper kiss on the mouth, even though he had morning breath. When he pulled back, he stretched out his legs and made a face. "I'm pretty sure after this weekend, I never need to do leg day at the gym again."

"Yeah, Clary practically demanded I massage her feet this morning. It's her _fault_ she's wearing shitty shoes when we're on our feet all day," Jace rolled his eyes but Sebastian couldn't stop his fond smile. "What?" Jace asked, giving him a side eye.

"I'm glad you're not freaking out and running off, pretending last night didn't happen," Sebastian noted quietly, so that Clary wouldn't hear in the kitchen. Not as though he was trying to hide anything from her, it was just that he wanted to talk directly to Jace, make sure they were on the same page. Jace looked down to where their fingers were twisted together and then shrugged.

"Things are always fine with me and Clary, after stuff like that happens between us," Jace shrugged a shoulder. Sebastian's eyebrows pulled together at the comment.

"But how long has it been since something has actually happened between you guys?" Sebastian asked, because from what he had gathered from bits and pieces, Jace's feelings for Clary had more intensely developed in the past year or so, and he was pretty sure they hadn't slept together in that time.

"We slept together...Eight or nine months or so ago..." Jace mumbled, squinting a little as thought back. "It was after we went to New York for a big exhibition where that photo of Maia was put on display." Sebastian nodded; he had seen the photo, and it was a beautiful shot, one that Clary deserved all the recognition that she got for. "It was...A bit of a spur of the moment thing, and it was intense, but it always is with her." Jace pursed his lips together and he looked far too serious for a guy who was wearing a bright purple shirt.

"You know there's more going on here, right?" Sebastian murmured, nudging Jace with his shoulder. "Not just for you, for her as well." Jace's eyebrows pulled together and it looked as though he was going to say something else when Clary appeared in the doorway, pale purple and white ribbons tied around her legs and matching ones braided through her hair.

"Can you just tie the bows?" She asked, looking completely unaware of what she interrupted. "At the bottom of the braid?"

"I'll do it," Jace offered, tugging his hand away from Sebastian's and sliding off the bed to walk over to Clary. Sebastian watched quietly as Jace tied the bow in Clary's hair, the redhead giggling and tossing her braid back and forth once Jace was done to make sure it was secure before she was bouncing off again, Jace watching after her fondly.

* * *

A lot of the biggest acts were on the last day, and even though Sebastian and Jace were both definitely feeling the most tried today out of all three of the day, their feet and calves aching, they still kept going. It was like the adrenaline kicked in once they got on the bus and were surrounded by the buzz of other people who were going, and it was always hard to be tired when around Clary's endless energy. She had her camera swinging around her neck, just like she had the other days, and just like it had the other days, it really ruined the whole effect of her outfit, but she still looked adorable.

"Did you colour co-ordinate us on purpose?" Sebastian asked with an arched eyebrow as they filled their water bottles from one of the water stations before they joined the throngs of people who were flooding through the gates going into the festival.

"Maybe," Clary flashed him a grin and Sebastian was tempted to roll his eyes, but he didn't. The outfit that she was wearing, a white bra thing with a purple fringe, and then the ribbons were all white and purple around her legs and she was wearing a pair of white shorts that were even smaller than the pair of shorts that Jace was wearing. Not that Sebastian was complaining, he was completely there for _both_ of their short shorts. Sebastian was in loose purple and black pants and a white singlet, probably the most low-key outfit that he had worn, other than the fact that the underarms of the singlet were cut so low it showed off almost his _entire_ side, and Clary had gone crazy with the purple glitter on his torso, so it shone when he lifted his arms. And of course, all of their make up had a touch of purple as well.

At least they didn't look like those disgusting matching windbreaker couples or thruples, so Sebastian really didn't care.

They got someone to take some photos of them, just like they had the other days, and then Clary demanded to take photos of Jace and Sebastian, getting them to kiss and put their arms around each other and there were a few wolf-whistles and hoots from people around them, even though there was literally a girl who had someone's hand up her skirt just a few feet away from them. Then Jace said he would get some photos of Sebastian and Clary, and he lifted Clary up easily and she let out a squeal and a cheer, smacking a kiss to his cheek, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.

"Now you two," Sebastian grinned, holding out his hand for the camera, wiggling his fingers expectantly at Jace. Jace paused for a moment, but then Clary wiggled her eyebrows and made her shoulders do this weird little dance and he couldn't help but laugh, and then whatever had him hesitating was gone and he was handing the camera to Sebastian.

"Yeah, boo," Clary giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in close, her cheek against his as Sebastian took a couple of photos of them. He watched Jace circle an arm around Clary's waist, tugging her in even closer, and then he was leaning in and kissing her on the nose and Clary was laughing and they were so beautiful together that it actually made Sebastian chest hurt a bit. He took more photos, and then there were some announcements being made over the loud speakers and it was an act that Clary had said that she wanted to see, and so she was pulling herself away from Jace to grab the camera from Sebastian and was running off, leaving the two boys to keep up with her.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of music and drinks and pyrotechnics and there was even a girl with bright green hair who looked as though she was on some kind of drug who ran up to Clary, grabbed her face firmly with both hands and smashed their lips together. Clary had let out a surprised laugh when they pulled away before the girls friends had come along and apologized, herding their friend away, and Clary just kept on going, as though what had happened was completely normal.

The last show that they went to, the final one of the festival, Clary didn't bother with her camera, letting it hang around her neck and bump against her hip in it's case, jumping up and down in front of the two men. As the last song ended, there was a bang, and then colour was exploding in the sky above them, and Clary let out a squeal, which made Jace laugh and Sebastian grinned at the pair of them, slinging his arm around Jace's shoulder and bringing him in close when another firework went off. Clary was a few steps in front of them and so Sebastian didn't reach out and put an arm around her, even though he wanted to, but after a few moments, she looked over her shoulder at them, her face lit up from the pink explosion above, and she smiled questioningly at him. Sebastian held out his other arm, and her smile widened as she took a few steps backwards, tucking her body snuggly against Sebastian and Jace, Sebastian putting an arm around her chest and Jace putting one of his arms around her waist, keeping her loosely locked against them.

It felt nice, the colourful explosions going off over head with Jace against his side and Clary against his front, Sebastian actually forgot that they were surrounded by thousands of other people.

Music was still playing, a DJ going hard on his turn tables and the speakers around them shaking with how loud the music was playing through them, and some people were dancing, but most people were standing still to watch the fireworks. Sebastian hugged Clary in tighter against their chests and he turned his head to the side, to where Jace was already looking up at him with a fond expression on his face. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against Jace's mouth, the kiss a lot deeper and dirtier than what Sebastian would usually be comfortable with in public. But in this crowd, in this situation, it really just didn't matter, because there were people doing a whole lot arm slung over Jace's shoulders moved, shifting to cup the back to Jace's head, and Sebastian felt rather than heard the moan against his lips.

He felt Clary shifting in front of them and that was the only reason that Sebastian stopped the kiss, opening his eyes and looking down at the red head. She was half turned, in Jace's direction, with her head tilted back up to look at them, her green eyes glittering in the pink explosion that was above their head right now. Sebastian barely had to shift his eyes to look back at Jace, given how close their heads were, and Jace's eyes were staring down at Clary, his arm tightening round Clary's waist. Sebastian could imagine Jace's fingers were pressing into Clary's bare skin right now, given how firmly they were holding her against their bodies, and he knew that would be part the way Jace was holding her. Jace's eyes flicked to Sebastian for a moment, and his eyebrows shifted a little, as though in a question, and Sebastian just dipped his head in a small nod and then Jace was leaning forward, and his lips were molding together with Clary's.

Sebastian felt his skin tighten at the two of his two lovers kissing in his arms, and even though there were fireworks going off and there was music playing and there were people screaming, he was pretty sure he could hear the soft, wet sounds of their lips coming together.

Clary moved both arms so that she could wrap one around Jace's neck and the other hand reaching out for Sebastian's arm, her small hand nowhere near big enough to wrap around his bicep but he liked the heat of her palm and the scrape of her nails. She was up on her tip-toes, and it looked as though she was trying to press herself entirely against Jace, and the golden haired man did not seem to mind at all. When their kiss broke, Clary's chest rising and falling steadily, and her arm hand shifted, her fingertips gently touching Jace's cheek. Sebastian sucked the corner of his bottom lip into his mouth at the tender moment that he was witnessing.

It actually almost like he was intruding, except then Clary was turning to look at Sebastian, and the hand on his arm moved to cup his own face, and she was giving him a warm look that made her eyes shine and his stomach feel weak. Then she was leaning forward and they were kissing, and Jace's arm was tightening around Sebastian. And then Jace was reaching over and fluttering little kisses over Sebastian's jaw and Clary's cheek and then they were all sharing kisses, rolls of tongues and gentle lips and their arms were locked around one another and it felt so perfect.

Things were different when they got back to the apartment that night, and maybe it was because it was their last night in Vegas, maybe it was because they were all tired, maybe it was because of everything that had happened last night, and then today.

They didn't just crash out as soon as they got back, even though their legs and feet were protesting that they did. They took turns in the shower, washing off the glitter and make up and the fluorescent paint that had been splattered on them during one of the performances that they had gone to sometime that afternoon. It was nearly two in the morning by the time that they settled into bed, Sebastian on one side, spooning Jace in the middle and Clary on the other side, her legs tangled together with Jace and their holding hands together between their bodies.

Clary fell asleep first, her rhythmic breathing soothing in the room, and Sebastian couldn't stop himself from kissing the back of Jace's neck and tightening his arm around the other man.

"I want this. I this for me, for you..." his voice was quiet and rough in the dark room, and Jace turned his head slightly to the side to show he was listening. "I want this for us. I know you do as well." Jace let out a shaky breath and after a few moments, he spoke into the darkness of the room.

"I do."

 **So songs I recommend are _I Think I'm OKAY_ by MGK, Yungblud and Travis Baker, which I absolutely adore, and the song and especially the music video give me intense early 2000's feels, and _Lost_ by Dermont Kennedy, which is so damn beautiful, I've completely fallen in love with it. Also _Lost Without You_ by Freya Ridlings, which was sent to me by _Reppinda5o3_ and is completely heart breaking. Umm...I can't really think of many movies and TV series I've been watching lately. Sorry :( **

**Okay, so, questions; what's your lockscreen/homescreen/blah blah blah? My lockscreen is Dominic Harrison and my homescreen is Demi Lovato, both total babes.**

 **Umm...What are you go-to feel good movies? Mine are—not in any type of order— _Princess Bride, The Swan Princess, Stardust, Spirit_ and _Frozen_. Lol. Not even sorry. I think _Catch and Release_ might be working its way onto this list as well. **

**...' _Please tell me I'm your one and only/Or lie and say at least tonight/I've got a brand new cure for lonely/And if you give me what I want/Then I'll give you what you like_ '...**

 **xxxxxxx**


	17. Chapter 17

**We got some aftermath feelings and shit happening in this one...**

Things were pretty quiet the next day as they packed up all of their things, and they all looked a little _boring_ , dressed in their normal clothes without any glitter or extra make up. They took turns showering, and they all spent a _long_ time cleaning up in the bathroom and the bedroom, trying to get rid of the glitter, although Jace hummed out knowingly that there was no way to ever _properly_ get rid of glitter. The plane that they were catching was one that afternoon, and they had breakfast before calling an uber and putting their things into the uber and then driving to the airport.

All of them were quiet as they drove, minds tired and bodies sore but all over happy with what had happened on their long weekend away. Clary stared out the window at the traffic and the shops and the people on the sidewalk, and honestly, the weekend felt like an other-wordly experience.

It sounded stupid as soon as she thought it in her head and she frowned as soon as it crossed her mind. She had known this weekend was going to be amazing—her and Jace had talked about coming to SFC, and everything had just slotted into place when she had gotten asked to take photos and the free tickets and then when Sebastian's birthday lined up as well. If it had been last year, and it had just been her and Jace, she would have completely expected her and Jace to hook up, and for them to have a good time, and she would have been fine with that, because it was always a great time when her and Jace were twined around each other. And even though she didn't want to admit it, she had wanted it again, _a lot_. But because things were serious with Sebastian and Jace, she hadn't thought something would happen between them.

Sebastian, though...She liked Sebastian.

He was funny and smart and perceptive and interesting and he was good for Jace. She liked that Jace had a solid relationship, because Jace liked relationships, unlike Clary.

There had been times when she had wondered if he wanted that type of relationship with _her_.

What they had was grounding and firm and even when they kissed and even when they slept together, they were still good, and he was honestly one of the best things that had happened in her life.

Her parents had both been pretty absent when she had been growing up, more her father than her mother, splitting up when she was seven, and the closest family member she had was her brother. Her and Jonathan had always had a good relationship, but it got harder as they grew up because they both had different lives to lead. In the last couple of years of her mothers life, it was like she was trying to make an effort to reach out for Clary, to get close to her, but that had been after years of putting her job first and making it very clear that Clary and her brother weren't a priority, and so Clary hadn't wanted to get to know her. She had taken a few phone calls, gone to a couple of lunches, but she was going through university and she had her friends and Jace and other people who filled her lift, and so that was pretty much it. But then when her mother had died, she had felt guilty. Not so much when her father had died.

Maybe it was because she didn't have that typical, nuclear family demonstrated for her as she was growing up that she didn't crave normalcy, like a relationship, in the same way that Jace did. That didn't mean that she didn't crave _intimacy_ , but she had that, with Jace, with Simon and Isabelle and Magnus and Alec. And also the people that she had sex with as well, especially with Maia, who had been her muse at one point, as well as being someone that she slept with.

There was always more of a connection when it came to Jace, though, but she had just assumed it was because they were good friends as well. They connected physically and emotionally and mentally.

But maybe she had just been ignoring the obvious signs that there was more of a connection between them because there was something more than love of a friend. Honestly, that scared her, and she didn't want to think about it when she was tired and her feet and calves were aching, and she wasn't at home so she couldn't lay in her bed and feel comforted by the familiarity of her bedroom. So she swallowed hard and blinked hard enough that she felt a dull ache in her head, and then turned her attention toward whatever it was Jace was talking about.

They got to the airport and Sebastian carried one of her bags. Clary smiled up at him and reached up to give him a kiss on the cheek, because it felt natural, and lead the way into the building. When she looked over her shoulder, Jace and Sebastian were holding hands and grinning at each other, and they looked like a proper couple, which meant that Clary was the odd one out, and usually she was fine with that, but now...

"Hey, can we have a look at some of the photos?" Sebastian asked when they had all gotten settled in the departure lounge, waiting for their flight to start boarding. Clary's camera was in it's case over her shoulder, and she tugged it off to hand over to them. He smiled at her, taking it carefully out of the case and turning it on the look through the photos. She walked over to a magazine stand, flicking it around to find something to look at when her phone vibrated. She pulled it out of her pocket, and it was a message from Maia.

Clary pursed her lips as she read the Facebook message, feeling a bit strange about it. Maia's picture was in the little bubble at the top of the page and the message wasn't anything different from what they had said to each other in the past, it just seemed to hit a nerve inside her that felt odd.

 _When are you back, babes? Jordan and I miss you._

Clary scratched the back of her neck and tugged her fingers through her hair as she looked over to where Sebastian and Jace were standing a few feet away from her, looking down at the little screen on her camera, flicking through the photos that she had taken, Sebastian laughing at a particular one and Jace's face going red. She wondered what photo they were looking at, and she sucked her lower lip into her mouth as she tapped her finger against the side of her phone.

In the end, she took so long to decide whether or not she was going to reply and was standing apart from the two men, Jace looked over at her with a questioning look, and there was something else going on in his eyes that made her tuck her phone away and skip over to join them. Sebastian grinned when she joined them, tossing an arm easily over her shadows and tucking her in against his side, acting as though it was all so easy and natural and she really wanted to believe that it could be.

"I've seen some of your other work," he told her. "And that picture of Maia is fucking amazing, and there's one you've taken of Jace's cousin that's beautiful, but pretty much every single one of these photos is great. I can see why you get paid for this."

"Damn straight," Clary grinned at him. Jace smiled over at her, his eyes soft and the corners of his mouth turned upward, and she felt her heart beat a bit faster in her chest. He handed the camera back to her and they went over to the Dunkin' Donuts and ordered coffee and donuts and sat down to wait until their flight was called out.

Once they boarded their plane, Clary demanded the window seat, and Jace said Sebastian could have the aisle one, which left Jace in the middle. She didn't think she was tired enough to fall asleep so quickly, but was only a few minutes after they were in the air and the seat belt sign went off that she felt her eyes getting heavy, and she let her head tip to the side and rest of Jace's shoulder. He was talking to Sebastian and didn't react for a moment, which was fine, because she just wanted to lean on him and sleep, but then he put his hand on her thigh and gave it a light squeeze, still talking to Sebastian, and his touch was warm and grounding, and that was the last thing it took before Clary fell asleep.

* * *

Getting back to Los Angeles was sad, because it meant that the long weekend was truly over, but it was also a relief because coming home always was. They got an uber from the airport and drove to Clary and Jace's place, because Sebastian's car was parked there. Clary headed into the house first, not sure what Jace and Sebastian's plans were; if Sebastian was going to stay the night there, or stay for a few hours, or if he was going to leave for his place straight away. She went to her room, dumping her bags down and heaving out a sigh as she collapsed on her bed.

There was always something about laying back on her own bed after being away.

She liked going away and travelling with her friends, but coming home was always the best.

Clary plugged her phone into the charger beside her bed and scrolled through Facebook and then Instagram for a little bit before she dragged herself back off her bed to start unpacking. There was music playing in the lounge, and she could hear people talking so she was guessing that Sebastian was still there. Most of her clothes were definitely going to need to go in the wash, and the leftover glitter and ribbons went into the bottom drawer of her bedside table. She put her shoes in her closet, except for a pair of ballet flats and Vans that she would put out at the front door because they were ones that wore a lot of the time, and then left her room with an armful of clothes to head to the laundry. When she got out to the tiny laundry room, which was opposite the kitchen, she noticed that all of Sebastian and Jace's bags were dumped in a big pile on the kitchen, not even Jace's things unpacked and put away tidily, which made her grin, because Jace was usually _excessively_ tidy and neat and hated things just lying around.

She couldn't see Sebastian and Jace as she stepped into the kitchen, but she could hear them, and as she walked into the kitchen, she eventually saw them over the back of the couch. Sebastian noticed her first and grinned and then Jace turned his head to look at her and he held out a hand. Clary looked at it and hesitated before reaching out and taking it, and that annoyed her, because just a few days ago she wouldn't have hesitated. She probably would have just _jumped_ over the back of the couch and onto them. She gripped his fingers and jumped onto the back of the couch, sitting there and jabbing her toes into Jace's thigh playfully.

"Sebastian has to work tonight," Jace said and Clary made a horrified face as she looked at him.

"What the fuck?" She sounded just as horrified as she looked.

"He didn't ask for the night off, didn't think he would need it," Jace grinned down at Sebastian, who just rolled his eyes.

"Look, I didn't think I would be as tired as I am!" Sebastian poked Jace's stomach and Jace grinned.

"We wore you out good, huh?" Clary said before she could stop herself, but both Sebastian and Jace laughed, so she let out a sigh of relief, already feeling annoyed herself for suddenly feeling on edge around them. Or maybe it wasn't _suddenly_ , because it was since _that night_ that she had been feeling off-balance. Sebastian reached up and circled his hand around her forearm, tugging firmly so that she fell off the back of the couch, sliding in between him and the back of the couch. Jace was laying over top of Sebastian, and he turned his head to the side, resting it on his boyfriends chest.

"Hey," he murmured, lowering the volume of the room effectively, and Clary blinked at him, given how close they were now that he had turned his head, almost nose to nose.

"Hey," she whispered back. She swallowed hard as her eyes searched his, looking for something grounding, to soothe the clenching and swarming in her stomach in a way that they hadn't since the last time they had slept together, back in New York, after the the big showing of Maia's photo. She hadn't felt it when they had all slept together, surprisingly. Maybe it was the drinks, or maybe Sebastian being involved had just helped to soothe things between them. Right now, though, Sebastian wasn't saying anything, his eyes watching both of them carefully, one armed wrapped around Jace's waist and the other still resting on Clary's arm. After a long few minutes of silence, Sebastian gave Clary's arm a light squeeze and he pressed a kiss to the top of Jace's head before he started moving underneath them. Instead of tipping Jace off him to the right, so that he was off the couch and it was easier for Sebastian to get up, he tipped him off to the left so that he was pressed against Clary and still on the couch when he stood.

"I should probably get going," he murmured. Clary looked up at him, feeling worried, but he just raised a fair coloured eyebrow at her, meeting her gaze and looking back at her as though she knew why he was leaving. Sebastian leaned forward and his lips met Jace's for a soft kiss. For a split second, she was worried he was going to kiss her on the mouth as well, which would feel a little bit _too_ domestic in this situation, which she wasn't quite ready for. But he just moved over and lightly kissed Clary's forehead before he was moving away.

"I can walk you to—"

"No, you guys stay," Sebastian cut Jace off as he moved away from the couch. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, yeah?" Clary assumed that he was talking to Jace, so she didn't reply as the golden haired man beside her watched Sebastian leave over the back of the couch. They heard some shuffling as Sebastian picked up his bags from the ground, and then the front door shutting, and a few moments later, the sound of a car engine starting. Then it was just Jace and Clary, laying on the couch together, with some music playing through the speakers. Clary licked her lips nervously, wondering if she should make the first move, and getting steadily more and more annoyed at herself for feeling nervous because this was _Jace_ , and this wasn't anywhere near the first time they'd kissed and had sex, and she'd always been able to compartmentalize.

"I really like you," Jace suddenly said, his voice so loud that Clary could barely hear him, even though he was right next to her. She blinked in surprise and turned her head to the side to look at him. He met her gaze and the intensity in his golden eyes made her whole body feel as though it was on fire. When she didn't respond, he properly turned onto his side and his hand trailed gently up her side, over her hip and the dip of her side, before resting on her cheek, cupping it, fingertips gentle as they touched her cheek. "I really like you," he repeated and she swallowed hard.

"I...I like you too?" Clary replied and then made a face at how awkward that sounded and Jace laughed, and that made Clary feel better and she laughed with him. After they settled down, Clary's body felt a bit looser and she let out a heavy breath before leaning forward and kissing Jace. Jace returned the pressure, his hand cupping her neck and fingers pressing against her skin and she lifted her leg and curled it around his hip, bringing him in closer. His tongue touched against hers and Clary opened her mouth, preparing for the kiss to get more intense, but then he pulled back gently.

"Clary?" He murmured.

"Yeah?" She blinked up at him, her green eyes a little hazy.

"I know you don't really do relationships, and I know this isn't exactly _normal_ ," Jace began slowly. "But...Me and Sebastian...I mean, I want to be with Sebastian. We're good together and I think he's really good for me." Clary blinked again, because her stomach was swooping and her chest was tightening. "And...I've always liked you. _Always_. There's something between us that I don't think I'm going to find with anyone else, even Sebastian." Clary blinked a third time and Jace bit down on his bottom lip as he considered his next words. "We want you to be with us."

"What?!" Clary couldn't help but blurt out, a little loudly for both of them, given how close they were. Jace looked a little shaken and Clary cringed before taking in a deep breath. "I mean... _What_?"

"I like you. Sebastian likes you. I think you like both of us. It's that simple," Jace murmured, trying to keep his face steady but his eyes clearly showed how nervous he was.

"It's _never_ that simple," Clary couldn't help but say.

"It _could_ be," Jace replied, and the thing was, Jace had never lied to her. Clary licked her lips nervously and dropped her eyes for a moment before looking back up.

"Okay," she said, and her voice was surprisingly steady. "Okay."

 **Alright! Another mass update! I'm just...In a super shitty place right now, completely mental, my life is actually in a really good space—isn't it great when that happens? But writing is generally therapeutic so...Here we go.**

 **Movies I would recommend would be _Where The Heart Is_ , which is an old time favourite for me, and _How To Be Single_ , which I actually quite like, even though I don't like Dakota Johnson. It's like my love for Leslie Mann cancels that out though. Haha. I don't know...Both of these movies make me really sad and happy at the same time, so it's good.**

 **Songs that I've recently fallen in love with are _Perfectly Wrong_ by Shawn Mendes, _Chateau_ by Angus & Julia Stone, _You Make It Easy_ by Jason Aldean and _Marry Me_ by Thomas Rhett. Recommend any songs that you guys have had on repeat recently :)**

 **Hope you're all doing well, and please leave a review and let me know what you thought of the chapter because I love your comments x**


	18. Chapter 18

**Okay, this is gonna be another one of these months you get two updates in month, so...*throws internet cookies***

It was nearly three weeks later, and Clary was still trying to figure out why things felt so easy with Sebastian and Jace. Because, from what she understood, they were all trying out this relationship thing, and she hadn't done it seriously before, but she was pretty sure that it was meant to be harder than this. Even for Isabelle and Simon, or for Magnus and Alec, they had _things_ that they would complain about, and when Magnus and Alec had first gotten together, Alec had so many things that he was worried about—always wanting to be absolutely perfect for Magnus—and Simon was Clary's best friend, but Isabelle still complained pretty regularly about him leaving clothes lying around the house or not helping with dinners.

But things with Sebastian and Jace were...Fine.

She didn't feel crowded or smothered, which she had been worried about, and she didn't feel disconnected from her friends, which was a _big_ thing she was worried about.

It was...Everything was just _normal_.

Except now, Sebastian would put his arm around her when they were on the couch and watching TV, or Jace would hold her hand when they were walking to their newest brunch spot. There were kisses as well, more from Jace than from Sebastian, which kind of felt right, since she knew Jace a lot better and physically she was more comfortable with him, but Sebastian had pinched her on the ass the other day when she was making cupcakes in the kitchen, and Clary's whole body felt as though it had exploded with butterflies at just the tiny motion.

Or when they had gone out to a bar last week for a belated get together for Sebastian's birthday with some of his friends that Jace and Clary hadn't met before, and people had seemed to realize that Jace and Sebastian were together, but they had just thought that Clary was a friend. Raphael Santiago had hit on her _shamelessly_ after he had had a few drinks and Clary had found the whole thing hilarious. She'd flirted back, because it felt natural, but she didn't lean in like she did if she wanted to sleep with someone, and when he offered to buy her a drink she just grinned and then waved a hand at Jace, asking for _him_ to buy her a drink. She was having fun with Sebastian's friends, and it wasn't until Jace was bringing her drink over, and he was pressing a hard kiss to the corner of her mouth, and then Sebastian was coming over and putting an arm very purposefully over her shoulders and kissing her temple that, and it was obvious that they were sending a _very_ clear statement that she was not going to be going home with anyone but them tonight.

And she had liked it.

She thought she wouldn't—there had been times with other people that she had slept with and they had gotten a bit possessive and she had hated it, Kaelie at one point had gotten snarky with Maia when there had been a bunch of them out for drinks, and Maia had even got snappy a couple of times. But with Jace and Sebastian, it had felt completely different, and she actually got a bit turned on at the fact that they were blatantly making it obvious that they were together.

Clary shoved her fingers through her hair and looked up at the clock on the wall, rose gold and with little leaves twining around the circular face. It was just after three in the afternoon, but Jace wasn't going to be home until late. He was still working at the pornography studio, even if his hours were cut all the way back, and he had only just left for a shoot half an hour ago, so he probably wouldn't be back until six or seven that evening. She wasn't sure where Sebastian was, he worked strange hours, a lot of them at night given he worked at a few different clubs, and then there was his work at the hotel and his classes that were only going for another few weeks, and then he would have a certificate in management. She was at home, still working on editing the festival photos, but then she had come across the ones from _that_ evening, when she, Sebastian and Jace had all slept together and it had brought on all these _feelings_.

Just because they had been 'dating' over the past few weeks, and there had been hand holding and kissing, none of it had been heated. Sebastian had stayed over, like he had before, when it had just been him and Jace, and Clary wasn't sure if they were still having sex, but she had a strange feeling that they weren't. She wasn't sure how she felt about it, and she didn't know that for sure, so she hadn't brought it up with either of them, but given she wasn't having sex with _anyone_ at the moment, it meant that she had been spending a lot more time with her hand and her vibrator than she had in a long time.

And Maia had seemed pretty surprised when she had said that she was seeing some and didn't want to meet to hook up, and she had sent a few more messages, including a drunk topless picture that Clary had felt a bit uncomfortable about.

But now, staring at the photos of that evening with Sebastian and Jace, with Jace in Sebastian's lap and their mouths pressed together in a heated kiss, and Clary couldn't stop herself from biting her lip and scratching her fingers lightly up her thigh. On the TV, _Derry Girls_ was playing, which was the exact opposite of sexy, so she reached for the remote and turned the volume down and then rested the laptop on the coffee table beside her, moving down a little on the couch. She was only wearing a pair of shorts that were pretty much underwear, and they had an elasticated waist and it was easy to slide her hand underneath the band.

Clary couldn't stop her eyes flicking back to the screen, to the photo of Sebastian and Jace, Sebastian's hand underneath Jace's shirt and pressing against his back, and she remembered how she felt when she was in that moment, standing close to them and watching the two men kiss. She wanted to reach out and click through the rest of the photos, because she knew that there were other ones—more of them in further states of undress, and then ones of her and Sebastian wrapped around each other—but that would require her to keep moving and searching through the photos, so she just left it on that one particular photo of Sebastian and Jace and rubbed herself through the thin material of her underwear, underneath her shorts.

She loved the way that they had moved together, and the sounds that they had made, and then the way Sebastian had taken Jace into his mouth after she had come over Jace's cock...Clary couldn't help the way her breathing came out shaky, and her eyes fluttered shut as she she let her thighs fall open completely. She was glad that Sebastian and Jace were going slow for her sake, but she kind of wished that _this_ particular area wasn't one of the areas that they were going slow.

They'd already had sex.

She was good at sex, and she was pretty sure that they had all had a good time, so she really wanted _more_ of that.

Clary had shifted her fingers, pushing aside the crotch of her underwear and gently touching the tips of her fingers against her slit, and the trimmed hair there was damp, and she brushed her fingers over her clit, making her body tense and push involuntarily up off the couch and into her hand. She rolled her shoulders and didn't bother swallowing the whimper that rose in her throat, since there was no one in the house to hide it from, and then she let her fingers press firmly against her clit, and her thighs and ass clenched at the sensation.

" _Fuck_ ," she mumbled, her other hand going to her stomach, tugging at the light shirt she was wearing and then lightly travelling up, toward one of her bare breasts, touching the curve underneath her breast, and it made her shiver. Her fingers were about to dip inside her and gather some more arousal, when she heard a sound from the kitchen. "Fuck!" She repeated, this one coming out a lot angrier than the first one. She looked up and blinked as she saw Sebastian standing there, his eyes wide as they looked down at her, and Clary realized that she was in a _very_ compromising position. "Uh," she narrowed her eyes up at him, not bothering to move her hands since he already knew what she was doing. "Pretty sure you're meant to be at work."

"One of the guys from the next shift came in early," Sebastian replied, his voice coming out rough. "I thought I'd come by and see you." Her eyes shifted to his hand, and she saw that he was holding a bouquet of flowers, pink and purple and blue, tied with a silky blue ribbon, and Clary's heart starting beating faster for a whole other reason as she realized that he had brought her flowers.

The only other people who had brought her flowers were Jace and Simon, and Simon's had been when they were in primary school and he had stolen them from the neighbours garden, so they still had hunks of dirt hanging from them.

"Uh..." Clary cleared her throat, and her hand pulled out from her her shorts, the other falling down to her hip from underneath her shirt. "You brought me _flowers_?" She blinked at them and Sebastian gave her a small smile, that was somehow sweet and not at all sexual, even though his pupils were blown and his eyes kept darting down to the apex of her legs.

"Yeah, baby," Sebastian murmured and Clary couldn't help the way she swallowed hard at the term of endearment, which was new and made her feel all melted inside and weak-kneed. "I brought you flowers." She stared up at him for another few beats, and then jerked up, holding out her hand for the flowers and he gave them to her. Clary buried her face in them and took in a deep breath.

"They smell so good," she whispered as she looked back up and he was still smiling at her. "Uh..." she licked her lips and glanced toward her computer screen, where the picture of Sebastian and Jace was still showing, and Sebastian seemed to notice it for the first time, based on the quick intake of his breath. "Yeah, so, maybe...Maybe I was heading toward an orgasm," she couldn't help but let out a huff of laughter.

"Yeah?" Sebastian arched an eyebrow at her, his smile finally changing from sweet to something salacious. "You want some help?" Clary paused from where she was reaching to put the flowers on the coffee table before placing them down and blinking at him, and she couldn't stop her toes from curling an anticipation, but something stopped her.

"Are we...Are we, like, allowed to?" She asked, and she hated how stupid she sounded saying it, but she really had no idea how things like this worked. Generally it was two people in a relationship—which in itself was something that she was inexperienced with—but she really wasn't sure how the dynamic worked when there were three of them. Did they only have sex when they were together? If only two of them were there, did they have to check with the third before they had sex? What if the third person felt left out? Honestly, it made Clary feel kind of _trapped_ , thinking of these rules that she was supposed to be abiding by, and maybe that she was showing on her face, because Sebastian reached out and touched her cheek with his thumb.

"Or I could watch TV while you keep editing and we could wait for Jace to get home?" He suggested and that wouldn't give her an orgasm, which is what she was definitely hanging out for, but it would be more comfortable than potentially hurting Jace.

"Yeah," Clary admitted with a nod and Sebastian grinned, not looking bothered.

"You mind if I make something to eat? I'm fucking _starving_ ," he said, already turning and walking toward the kitchen and Clary let out a sigh of relief. She'd turned down her fair share of partners over the years, and sometimes—even with the one who she was friendly with— _sometimes_ they still got pissed and acted as though she had been leading them on and being a tease.

Of course Sebastian wasn't like that.

Clary wouldn't be doing this if he was.

 _Jace_ wouldn't be doing this if he was—and he wouldn't have asked Clary to trust him and trust Sebastian if he was.

And...He'd brought her flowers.

Sebastian was moving around the kitchen, making himself whatever he was to eat, and Clary scooched up properly so that she was sitting on the couch against one arm, and she picked up her laptop, resting it on her knees as she crossed her legs. She turned the volume of _Derry Girls_ back up and couldn't help but keep glancing over at where the bouquet of flowers was now resting on the coffee table and smiling. When Sebastian came over, he sat down at the other end of the couch, not moving too close to Clary so as not to make her feel too uncomfortable, and Clary appreciated that, although she didn't feel in the _least_ uncomfortable.

She stretched out her legs and pressed her toes against the side of his thigh, and Sebastian smiled over at her, squeezing her ankle for a moment returning to his cereal.

"You're starving so you got yourself cereal?" Clary asked after a couple of minutes and Sebastian snorted.

"You got a problem with cereal?" Sebastian asked as he scooped out another spoonful. She lifted herself up to try and see what he was eating, and she realized that it was cornflakes, but he'd also cut up banana and peaches and strawberries and dumped them all in there as well.

"Nah," Clary grinned. "Cereal's fucking amazing." Sebastian turned back to the TV and Clary turned back to her computer screen, editing some more photos, but still unable to stop herself from going back to the ones of the night that her, Sebastian and Jace had spent together. Every time she went back to the photos, she squeezed her thighs together, and her feet would press harder against Sebastian's thigh from where her legs were stretched out in front of her, but she didn't initiate anything and neither did he, and the whole thing was just nice and comfortable.

It was clear that Sebastian had never seen _Derry Girls_ before, and so Clary was going to have to dress Jace down for that later, because this was in the top five favourite shows at the moment and this was her fifth re-watch of the first season—and they'd watched it together three of those times—but he seemed to head over heels with Orla.

And James.

"No!" Sebastian cried out, his eyes wide as he watched Father Peter completely turn his back on his back on Catholicism and walk away from Erin, to go and find his hair dresser girl. "Oh no, James!" Father Peter seemed to make his worst move yet by calling James a dick before walking away, leaving a poor, confused James watching after him, in his copy-cat black clothes.

"How have you never watched this?!" Clary cried out. "I thought you and Jace had been seeing each other for _months_!"

"We have," Sebastian laughed, but he was still watching the TV, grinning as the episode ended with a photo of the main cast on the front of a newspaper, labelled as 'creators of a cruel prank'.

"Then _what_ have you been doing with all your time together?" She put her laptop down and arched her back, realizing that she had been hunched over most of the time, and it had been nearly two hours that she had been editing.

"We find ways to entertain ourselves," Sebastian looked over at her and wiggled his eyebrows and Clary rolled her eyes at him, but she couldn't resist squeezing her thighs together at the thought. She moved to put her laptop down on the shelf underneath the coffee table and then moved herself around so that she was leaning against Sebastian's side. Sebastian easily put his arm around her and tucked her in closer to his side, pressing a kiss to her temple before slumping down lower in the cushions and lifting his feet to rest them on the couch. Her phone vibrated in the pockets of her shorts and she pulled it out as she made herself more comfortable, and saw it was from Maia—who she hadn't replied to in a few days. Clary put the phone on the couch next to her, face down, and rested her head on Sebastian's chest, arm loosely resting over his stomach.

As the next episode started, Clary idly thought that she hadn't actually done this with anyone—curled up on a couch and let herself be hugged—by anyone that she was sexually involved with, other than Jace.

Sebastian laughed at something on the TV, and his chest moved and Clary's body jerked a little at that, but then he quieted down, and she let her eyes close slowly, and even though it was still early evening, she'd had a late night last night, and she was really comfortable, and she found her eyes drifting shut pretty quickly.

 **I watched the movie _It's Kind of a Funny Story_ for the first time, I've been meaning to watch it for years, but I just never had. I'm really glad I did, so I definitely recommend it. It's got Zach Galifianakis, Viola Davis and Emma Roberts and it's just a really really good. Sort of similar to _Perks of Being a Wallflower_ , although nowhere near as good since that's my favourite movie of all time. Haha. Also as I'm writing this, we're watching _Big Hero 6_ and I just adore this movie so much. They're all just amazing, and Tadashi is just...The most beautiful person in the world. Oh, and the other day I watched _Need For Speed_ again, which is just a mindlessly car racing movie, but I love Aaron Paul and Imogen Poots and so it's great. Haha.**

 **For TV shows, I've recently started _The Bold Type_ , and I'm completely in love, the three main girls are adorable, I don't know which one is my favourite so far. None? All? All, I think. And I absolutely love Alex. And Jacqueline is a fucking goddess. Honestly, the show just makes me so happy. Also _Crashing_ , which was fucking hilarious. Some of the lines in it were really cruel, actually, which kind of cut for a comedy show. I absolutely fucking LOVED Melody and Colin and Sam. Particularly Melody. Also, _Derry Girls_ , I've recommended it before, I'll do it again. Haha. My husband and I have watched it sooooooo many times, it's generally our go-to when stoned. Haha.**

 **Okay, so songs... Uh, some old ones I've been listening to— _Forever_ and _Sex Metal Barbie_ by In This Moment, um, also _Blood_ and _Adrenalize_. Slow _Fade_ by Ruth B, which is beautiful, _Cringe_ by Matt Maeson and the acoustic version is even better. _None Of My Business_ by Cher Lloyd and _Takeaway_ by The Chainsmokers and then _Hope For The Underrated Youth_ by Yungblud, which I bawled my eyes out over the first few times I listened to it.**

 **Okay; questions...Anyone into _Veronica Mars_? Anyone been into Veronica Mars since they were a child? Oh my god. I was so fucking disappointed by the reboot. Like, my entire heart dropped. I only got two episodes in, and I wasn't really enjoying it, I just felt like Veronica wasn't characterized well, she had actually regressed, and then I read the ending, and I just refused to go on. So...That's disappointment dating back to my primary school days.**

 **Umm...Favourite song right now? Mine is _hammer_ by nothing,nowhere.**

 **And how many tattoos do you have? I've just gotten my second one, and I think I'm getting a third in November, and then I've got plans for, like, four others.**

 **Anyway, drop a review, they make my day :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey, guys! Just a quick heads up that I'm not sure if there will be two updates for every story next month, like there has been for the past couple months, we'll just see how it goes. Working a lot at the moment and my husband and I are doing renovations on our home and just general busy life stuff, so don't have a lot of free time right now x**

Jace got home to find Sebastian and Clary on the couch, the lights still off as though they had been in the lounge since before it had gotten dark, and _Derry Girls_ was playing on the TV. He approached quietly, barely paying any attention to the TV but looking at the two on the couch. There were small snuffles coming from Clary, so she was obviously asleep, but Sebastian was staring at the TV intently, completely wrapped up in the second season of the show. He waited a few moments, but Sebastian didn't seem to be aware at all of Jace's presence, so he cleared his throat pointedly. Sebastian's body jerked and then his head tipped back and he let out a laugh.

"Oh shit. Hey," Sebastian grinned up at him, tilting his head all the way back so that Jace could lean down and press a kiss to his mouth.

"Hey," Jace grinned back at him, his heart beating stupidly fast in his chest as he looked down at both his partners and lovers—something he never thought he would ever be able to properly have when it came to Clary. Sebastian let his head fall forward again and he shifted his shoulder gently, and a moment later, Clary was making a little annoyed groaning sound and letting her eyes open. She seemed disorientated for a moment before pushing slowly away from Sebastian and looking around.

"Shit," she mumbled in a sleep voice, rubbing her hands over her face. "Didn't realize I was so tired." Sebastian just smiled at her, reaching out and gently pushing back some hair that was sticking to her cheek, which was a little red from where she had been pressed against Sebastian. "What time is it?"

"Uh—just after six," Jace said as he looked at his phone. He would be happy to just look at the two of them on the couch a while longer, but he was guessing that that would probably be rude. "Did you guys want dinner?"

"Yeah," Clary's voice sounded a bit more alert, now that she was waking up. "Should we order something in? Are you working again tonight, Seb?" She asked as she pushed off the couch and straightened out her shorts and glanced toward Sebastian, who shook his head. Jace couldn't help the way his eyes strayed to her thighs, under the short hem, and then they settled on the coffee table, where her laptop and a bouquet of flowers were resting. He smiled at the flowers as he watched Clary reach down and pick them up, and then straighten up and see him looking. "Sebastian brought me flowers," she said, and there was something in her voice that seemed a little bit bashful, and it was completely endearing since that was a _completely_ unusual tone for her, and Jace wanted to reach over the back of the couch and kiss her, but he restrained himself. She walked past him on the way to the kitchen and Sebastian turned around on the couch to give him a pointed look.

"What?" Jace asked quietly and Sebastian did this thing where he arched both of his eyebrows and widened his eyes, as though Jace had done something completely wrong. " _What_?" Jace mouthed.

"What did you guys want for dinner?" Clary asked from the kitchen as she opened the cupboards and looked inside, then shutting the doors and opening the next ones. "Thai? McDonalds? We could Post Mates something from that burger bar that is to die for."

"Yeah—what about that gourmet meat pie place?" Jace suggested, although his eyes were still on Sebastian, trying to figure out what he was trying to mouth at him.

"I think there's a vase in one of the rooms. I'll be back in a sec," Clary said absent-mindedly as she put the flowers down in the kitchen and left the room. She left the lounge, heading down the hallway, and Jace raised an eyebrow at Sebastian expectantly.

"We need to talk about sex," Sebastian said, still keeping his voice down. Jace couldn't help his smirk.

"Pretty sure there's a song about that," he replied and Sebastian rolled his eyes, but he couldn't hold back his own smile.

"With Clary. We need to talk about sex with Clary," he reiterated and Jace blinked and the smile on his face faded a little. Pretty much anything when it came to sex and Sebastian and Clary sounded good, but the way that Sebastian was saying it, sounded like something was maybe _wrong_. He and Sebastian _had_ talked about sex with Clary recently, and they had decided that they were going to leave it up to her to make the first move because they didn't want to pressure her, and then they hadn't really said anything about it since.

"What happened?" Jace asked.

"I think...I think we just need to clear up that we can all have sex...Whenever?" Sebastian wrinkled his nose, and the expression made him look a lot younger, which was sweet. "I mean, this is all new for all of us, right? But I know that I personally wouldn't have any problem with you two having sex if I wasn't here. And from what you've said before, I don't think you'd have any problem with me and her having sex if you weren't here? I think we just need to...Say that. We all need to talk about it." Jace looked at him for a few minutes, trying to figure out what had brought this on, and he tilted his head to the side.

"What happened?" He repeated and Sebastian swallowed hard, pursing his lips together for a moment.

"I came in and she was getting herself off on the couch," he said bluntly, and Jace blinked again. "And when I offered to help she said she wasn't sure if we were _allowed_." It sounded completely unlike Clary that Jace had no idea what to reply, but then again, part of him was kind of happy with the response. It meant that she was taking this relationship seriously, even if she wasn't sure where their boundaries were. But maybe that was up to them, since they were the ones with more relationship experience.

"Right..." Jace breathed, really not sure what to say.

"I mean, we knew that we were going to have to talk about stuff sooner or later. Sooner is better," Sebastian shrugged a shoulder. Jace and Sebastian had talked a bit about what the three of them were doing, but most of the _relationship talk_ with Clary had been left to Jace, since he and Clary had the most history, but there really hadn't been any discussion after their first one, when they had decided to get together. Sebastian had been the one to suggest that, although he knew that if they were going to have something long term, then it was something that they were all going to have to be comfortable talking about with each other. Jace was still trying to get his thoughts straight—the idea of Clary masturbating on the couch and Sebastian coming home and helping her would have been a nice image if it had actually happened—when the redhead came back into the room with the flowers now inside a vase with water half filling it up.

"So you guys want to go with the gourmet pie place?" She asked, completely oblivious to the tension in the room. "I think I'd be down for that. And we should get dessert as well—we finished that cheesecake I made the other week and I _really_ want brownie." She also didn't seem to notice that she was basically having a conversation with herself as she put the vase down on the windowsill above the sink so that the flowers were on display and then went to the freezer and opened the door. "Ooh, _yes_ , we have ice cream. So we should definitely get brownie." She finally looked over at them, and Sebastian couldn't help but snort with laughter. "What?" She asked, looking between Sebastian and Jace, and Jace just shook his head, jabbing his finger in Sebastian's side, but that just made the older man laugh again. " _What_?"

"I think we...Need to talk?" Jace cringed at the line, and couldn't help but close his eyes for a split second, and when he opened them again and focused back on Clary, she was making a face at him as well.

"I'm pretty sure that's my least favourite thing you've ever said," she stated, her upper lip curled in disgust, although the nervousness was clear in her eyes.

"Sorry," Jace apologized, and he was serious, because this thing between them was so tentative and thin. Not their friendship, Jace had never doubted that for a second, but this relationship that they had all recently entered into. "Um, come here?" He said, holding out an arm as he moved to settle his ass on the back of the couch, so that he and Sebastian were both facing toward her, although he was hoping that it wasn't going to come off as some sort of a two versus one, because that wasn't what this was _at all_.

"Okay..." Clary sounded nervous but she came over to stand between Jace's legs and he wrapped an arm loosely around her waist.

"So, uh," Jace licked his bottom lip nervously and couldn't help but look down at Sebastian for help and then back at Clary, who was watching him with an arched eyebrow, unsure of what's happening. "I don't care if you have sex with Sebastian when I'm not here. Or just make out, or whatever. And—Sebastian doesn't care if we have sex or kiss when he's not here, and if you don't mind me and Sebastian having sex when you're not there, then...That would be cool too?" He trailed off, leaving it up to Clary to reply. She was chewing down on her bottom lip, and Jace couldn't help the way his eyes kept drifting downward, even though he was trying to keep his mind focused on the _conversation_ because it was _important_. Sebastian was quiet on the couch behind Jace, but Jace knew that he was listening for her reply intently.

"I would be— _totally_ fine with you guys having sex if I wasn't there. Completely. And—I want to have sex with both of you guys, together and separately," Clary said after a few moments of considering what he had said, glancing between both men. "I don't—I mean, you know I've never really had a relationship or anything," she looked at Jace and he nodded slightly. "But I don't want there to be any type of...I-I know there are _rules_ , but some of them are going to be different because there are _three_ of us right, so it wouldn't be the same as just a normal couple? So..." she let out a heavy breath through her teeth and made a face, lifting her hand to rub at her nose, not sure how to put into words what it was she was trying to say. Jace didn't say anything else but then Sebastian was moving, getting up from the couch climbing over the back so that he was sitting next to Jace and he reached out and brushed his fingertips over her cheek and Clary tilted her head into the touch.

"We make up our own rules here, Clary," Sebastian told her gently. "What we do and don't do, we work all of that out together." Relief was obvious in her eyes as she leaned forward, resting the palms of her hands on Jace's chest but leaning her face into Sebastian's hand still. "There might be some things that we decide now that we don't want later, and we can change it up then. It's just...We'll take it as it comes."

And that was...Honestly the best thing for Clary to hear.

There were some specific reasons why she had agreed to try a relationship with Jace and Sebastian, and _this_ was one of them. The fact that they weren't pressuring her to fit into some kind of box or within these lines that she wasn't able to contort to.

"You know...For a conversation about sex, this really isn't sexy," Clary said quietly after a few more moments passed and Jace snorted while Sebastian just smiled as his fingers drifted lower, down to touch the corner of her mouth before his hand fell and rested on Jace's arm. Then Clary's stomach gurgled loudly and all three of them laughed.

"Dinner?" Jace suggested.

"Dinner," Clary agreed and Sebastian was already nodding his agreement.

They ordered their pies and then separately ordered brownie after Clary had _also_ checked that they had berries in their fridge to go with the brownies, because apparently the ice cream wasn't enough. There were beers in the fridge that Jace snapped the lids off before bringing them into the lounge and putting them on the coffee table as they waited for their food to arrive.

"Alright, what about _Crashing_? Ooh—or _Bonding_?" Clary asked as she scrolled through Netflix on her phone.

"We've seen them both twice, right? Although I could watch _Bonding_ again...Or for the fourth time, coz we watched that when I got that weed from Kaelie's boyfriend," Jace mused as he lifted his beer to his lips and took a sip.

"That was good weed," Clary said idly and Jace hummed in reply. Sebastian smiled between them, because he liked the familiarity between them. They were all on the couch, even though there were two other arm chairs, and they were all on the part of the couch that was facing the TV, rather than the part of the L shape that was vertical to the TV, although Clary's legs were stretched out along that part. "Do you smoke, Seb? I mean, I know we shared that joint in Vegas, but that was barely anything," Clary asked as she cast from her phone to the TV, making the executive decision to go with _Bonding_.

"Sometimes. I prefer it to drinking," he replied.

"Ooh," Clary grinned as she looked back at him, wiggling her eyebrows. "So if we can get some of that good weed again, you'd be down? It'd be good to see you let loose."

"I let loose!" Sebastian protested and there was a grin from Jace.

"I wouldn't say you're uptight, but..." Jace trailed off purposefully and Sebastian couldn't help but let out a laugh, shaking his head as he dropped it to the side, on Jace's shoulder and Jace turned his head and pressed a kiss to the top of Sebastian's head. "Maybe it's just because you work all the time."

"Daddy's gotta make that money," Clary sung out with a grin and Jace rolled his eyes over her, while Sebastian's shoulders shook as he laughed. The show started and they both fell quiet, but Clary wasn't paying much attention, most of her focus on her phone, her thumbs tapping over the screen. Jace was at the other end of the couch and he had an arm wrapped around Sebastian next to him, and Sebastian's hand was resting on Clary's thigh, his thumb gently rubbing up and down as they watched. There was an alert of Jace's phone when their order was near, and Clary paused the show when he got up, grinning and waving the bright screen of her phone in Sebastian's face.

"Wh—I can't read it," Sebastian squinted, trying to follow the phone that she wouldn't stop moving.

"Kaelie said she can get us some more of that good weed," she grinned as Sebastian reached out and wrapped his hand around her wrist to finally stop her phone so that he could read the message. "What night you working next weekend? We should have a night here, order in chicken and burgers and get stoned." Sebastian looked as though he was about to agree with her when there was sounds from the kitchen of Jace coming back with the paper bags of their food. "Ooh!" Clary added. "And watch _Hot Fuzz_!"

" _Hot Fuzz_?" Jace asked as he came around the couch and put down the bags on the coffee table. "So we're getting stoned?"

"Maybe we just want to watch _Hot Fuzz_ ," Sebastian countered and Jace shrugged a shoulder.

"I mean, fuck yeah, it's a great movie," Jace agreed.

" _Buuuut_ it's our go-to movie when we're stoned," Clary grinned as she shuffled forward to the edge of the couch and opened up the first paper bag, looking inside and her nose wiggling and the little stud in her nose catching the light from above and she let out a happy sigh. "This is the brownies, and it smells _amazing_." Jace opened up the other bag and then reached inside to take out individual cardboard boxes with their pies in them, looking at the labels before handing them out, making a face as he handed Clary her one. "I see your face, and I know what you're thinking, and fuck you." Jace just rolled his eyes and Sebastian snorted, because they'd already had this argument.

"Butter chicken belongs on rice and naan not in a pie," he grumbled.

"It belongs in whatever the fuck I want and it's going to be amazing," Clary retorted as she opened the box and took a big whiff of the gourmet butter chicken pie that she had ordered—that was clearly offending Jace's delicate sensibilities. Sebastian grinned as he picked up his own pie and took a bite as Clary resumed the show they were watching.

They didn't have sex that night, but they all ended up going to bed in Jace's bed, falling asleep together for the first time since they had left Las Vegas.

 **Songs that I recommend are _Die A Little_ by Yungblud, _Teeth_ by 5SOS, _Love Myself_ by Olivia O'Brien and _Middle Finger_ by Bohnes, all of which have just been on repeat for the past week or so. Also, my husband is completely obsessed with _Motivation_ by Normani and _Slide Away_ by Miley Cyrus, so I've been hearing those a lot recently as well. Lol.**

 **I've been fighting this cold/flu/virus things for moooonths now, and I took a day off work coz it hit hard and I was feeling sorry for myself and I just spent it watching fluffy movies that make me happy. Haha. _Footloose_ , the original one, of course, even though I don't mind the new one. _A Cinderella Story, Ever After, Raise Your Voice, Centre Stage: Turn It Up, What A Girl Wants, The Prince & Me, 13 Going On 30 _and _High School Musical_ so those are my recommendations!**

 **Okay, so questions—how many of you guys are planning on getting Disney+? Haha. It's just been announced that it _will_ be getting released in New Zealand, which we were worried it wouldn't be because so many streaming services aren't. But it's gonna be here in November and me and my partner are _psyched_! Haha.**

 **Is everyone else heartbroken about the Sony/Marvel breakdown? Honestly, my heart goes out to Tom Holland the most, because he has done such an incredible job. There's always going to be a special place in my heart for the OG Spiderman, but there's just something about Tom's version, he was fucking amazing and had so much heart, and I'm just _so upset_ that there isn't going to be more of him in this verse. He seemed so heart broken at D23. Poor baby :(**

 **Last one! Anyone watch performances at the VMAs? I honestly kind of think the VMAs/Oscars/The Golden Globes yadda yadda yadda are pretty bullshit, pretty biased, so I don't pay too much attention to the nominations and the winners, but I live for the outfits and the, like, two or three performances from artists I like. Lizzo and Missy Elliott were fucking _amazing_ , and I screamed when Alyson Stoner came out on stage. Miley Cyrus' performance was totally heart breaking, so fucking good. And Halsey and Jonathan Van Ness were my stand out outfits! Oh also—Joe and Nick Jonas and Sophie Turner's reactions to Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes not kissing in their set was fucking hilarious. Let's face it, I think anything involving Sophie is hilarious—did you guys see her pasta related Instagram story? Ahahahaha. She's amazing.**

 **Drop a review, let me know what you think, love you lots x**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey, guys! Before getting into it, I want to recommend some of my favourite songs as of late... _Undrunk_ by Fletcher. _Dance Monkey_ by Tones and I. And then of course _Kill My Mind_ by the beautiful Louis Tomlinson and _Lights Up_ by the just as beautiful Harry Styles, although the _Lights Up_ music video was an experience and a half, especially while high. _Pretending_ and _Honest_ by Mali Koa are just beautiful. Then _Promise Me_ by Badflowers, which...Made my heart hurt when I heard the song, and then when I watched the video, I cried for the next hour. Yeah. I just wanted to share some happy things, since my note down the end isn't as happy, I guess. Anyway. On with the story x**

"So, the plan is to get stoned and have sex?" Sebastian snorted as he threw two blocks of caramel chocolate into the shopping cart because Clary had a sweet tooth even at the best of times, but apparently it just got even more when she was stoned. Clary grinned and shrugged her shoulders, skipping beside him as she reached the fancier types of chocolate and pursed her lips together as she considered them. "You want _more_ chocolate?" Sebastian asked with a grin.

"Are you judging me?" Clary arched an eyebrow as she looked back at him and Sebastian held out his hands, palms upward, showing that there was no argument that was going to come from him. Clary smirked at him before turning back and then leaning forward and picking up a box of ganache chocolates and tossed them in the cart before she was leading the way down the aisle. The next aisle was biscuits and coffee and tea and Clary picked things out and put them in and Sebastian was really just there to push the cart.

He didn't mind, though.

It was the first time that the pair of them had been alone since he'd walked in on her on the couch in a _compromising_ position. Not that they had been avoiding each other, but Sebastian worked strange hours, and Clary had been out a lot through the week—there was a fashion shoot that Magnus was working on and Clary was photographing all of the work that lead up to it, as well as the event in several weekends time—and Sebastian had wondered if it would get brought up. So far it hadn't, but it hadn't seemed as though she was avoiding it, it just seemed as though she had moved on, and Sebastian was completely happy with that, now that they were all on the same page.

"Just checking, but..." Sebastian murmured as they were standing in front of the soda collection and Sebastian rested a hand on her hip and Clary seemed to subconsciously just lean back against him, her head against his chest, given how short she was next to him. "But I _am_ going to get the chance to have the sex with you when you're not intoxicated, right?" It came out as a bit of a joke, although the sentiment behind it was completely serious. Clary was quiet for a moment, and when she turned around, there was a cheeky expression on her face, eyebrows lifted.

"Of _course_ we are, Seb," Clary replied with a wiggle of her eyebrows. "We could go home and have sex right now, if you want." She grinned and her cheeks pinked a little, which was adorable, because she had always seemed so open when it came to sex. Sebastian grinned widely at her and lifted a hand to touch the corner of her lip, leaning down a little so that their noses bumped together.

"As much as that appeals," Sebastian began, feeling regretful. "I have work in an hour, so I only have enough time to finish up here and then drop you off at your place." Clary pouted and Sebastian grinned, leaning down a bit further so their mouths pressed together in a brief, chaste kiss before he pulled back and put his hands on her shoulders, turning her around to look back at the drinks. "Now, pick what you want." She was picking up bottle of lemonade when Sebastian's phone rang, and he had to dig it out of his pocket. Jace's name was flashing on the screen and he grinned as he picked up the call and lifted the phone to his ear. "Hey, babe," Sebastian greeted him.

"Hey," Jace responded. "Where are you guys? I've just gotten to the house and it's empty."

"We're at the store," Sebastian replied as Clary moved on to get another drink, something that he was guessing was a mix for vodka or in the very least, the lemonade she had picked out.

"Ah," Jace laughed on the other end of the phone. "How long have you been there?"

"Not _too_ long, _"_ Sebastian made a face, although it was there was only fondness there. "I mean, I feel as though she knows literally everyone. We have stopped and talked with four different people since we got here, we've only made it down past the fruit and vegetables and down three aisles so far. I don't think we're every going to get out of here before I need to get to work this afternoon."

"I heard that!" Clary called out to him, not seeming to care that there were other people between them now. Sebastian grinned over at her and pushed the cart closer.

"Don't worry, you know that she gets bored easily. Give her another ten minutes and she'll remember how much she doesn't want to be at the store and she'll speed through the rest of the shopping," Jace said and Sebastian laughed.

"You make her sound like a puppy," he replied.

"In the best possible way," Jace sounded like he was shrugging on the other end of the phone. Sebastian laughed again and then looked around for Clary, shoulders slumping when he didn't see her.

"I think that ten minutes is up and she's disappeared on me," Sebastian told Jace. "I better go."

"Okay—I'll see you guys when you get home," Jace said and Sebastian returned the sentiment before hanging up and then he paused, replaying the words in his head, and the fact that he had just called Jace and Clary's place _home_. To be fair, he had been spending a lot more time there than at his own apartment recently, but it meant a lot more than that.

"Seb!" Clary called out from the end of the aisle, and her arms were full with groceries that she had obviously decided to just juggle rather than to wait for Sebastian. He couldn't help but smile and picked up the pace to reach her. Clary dumped everything and then made a face as she looked at the red marks on her arms from where different groceries had been digging into her.

"You're just so odd," Sebastian murmured as he reached out and rubbed his thumb over a deep groove that looked as though it had been caused by the plastic stuffed pasta cups container. Clary shrugged a shoulder and thankfully didn't look bothered by the comment, watching Sebastian's thumbs as they moved over her skin, and when he seemed to think that it was okay, he let go of her arm. Clary gave him a small smile, lifting up on her toes and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"A good odd though, right?" She asked with a grin, although there was a glint in her eye that said that already knew the answer to her question.

"Definitely a good odd. The best odd," Sebastian replied, and when she turned around and began to walk off, he couldn't help but reach out to give her ass a smack as she went past and Clary flashed a smile back over her shoulder as she tugged on the side of the cart.

"Let's _gooooo_ , I'm bored!" She told him, pulling on the cart again, forcing Sebastian's arms forward and he was more than happy to follow her forward, and he couldn't help but grin at how well Jace knew her, given he had literally predicted this just a few minutes ago. They got up to the check outs and Clary chatted happily with the girl behind the cash register when she handed over her reusable bags, and Sebastian just loaded up the conveyor belt. When it got to paying, there was some debate over who was going to pay, since the food was all going back to Clary and Jace's place, but Sebastian had been spending most of his time there, and there was literally a box of beer in the cart that was just for _him_ , but Clary was protesting that Jace paid for the groceries, and he would be pissed if he found out that Sebastian was trying to step on his toes.

"I really don't think Jace's ego is so fragile that he's going to be upset about me paying for half of the groceries," Sebastian rolled his eyes as he finally let Clary shove his wallet away and swiped Jace's debit card through the machine.

"You don't know him like I do," Clary stated wisely. "You don't know how his ego gets when he can't pay for things like...Beer," her eyes flicked down to the last things packed into the shopping bags. "And sanitary items." Sebastian snorted and Clary grinned at him as she accepted the receipt from the cashier and waved at her as they headed. "Well, maybe if—" Clary paused for a moment, the smile on her face fading and her eyebrows pulling together, as though she was considering her words, and Sebastian didn't push her, letting her take her time. "Maybe if you move in, or whatever, we can talk about it then." Sebastian's eyebrows arched in surprise, but it was clear that Clary was a bit uncomfortable by what she had said, so he took one arm off the cart and slung it around her shoulders, giving her a kiss on the side of the head and not saying anything as they walked the rest of the way to the car.

Clary had moved on from what she had said by the time they were driving home, and she sung along to the Billie Eilish song that was playing on the radio, window rolled all the way down. Sebastian had one hand on her thigh and the other resting loosely on the wheel, and the whole thing felt comfortable and casual.

Sebastian took in most of the bags, Clary just walking off in front of him with one hooked over her arm, and by the time Sebastian got to the front door, he could just hear Clary shouting out,

"Ja-ace! Sebastian tried to pay for the groceries!" He shook his head and grinned as he joined her in the kitchen, putting his bags on the counter and starting to pull groceries out. For a moment, there was no response, other than the sound of some rock song playing through the speakers, and then Jace appeared in the doorway, clearly fresh out of the shower with the water droplets on his shoulders and trailing down his chest, and the way his hair was sticking to his head and neck, and he was only wearing a pair of shorts.

With the way Clary was smirking and red cheeked in a tiny pair of shots and a singlet next to him, Sebastian really wished he didn't need to go to work.

"Fucking hell," he muttered as he glanced between the pair of them before turning back to the groceries. There was a snort from Jace and then a laugh from Clary, and when Sebastian looked back over his shoulder, he could see that they were exchanging a kiss. While he wanted to watch— _really_ wanted to watch, he didn't, not right now. He knew that neither of them would care, but he also knew that while the three of them together, all of them had to be happy in pairs as well. Like how him and Clary had done the shopping together today, and Jace and Clary had gone out for ice cream and a walk on the beach while Sebastian was working, and Sebastian and Jace had taken a long shower the other night and gotten each other night while Clary had been out with Isabelle and Kaelie.

Most things, they did together, but they did things in couples as well, and it seemed to be working well.

All of it did.

Clary and Jace joined Sebastian in putting everything away and then Sebastian made a face when he checked the time on his phone.

"I should probably get going," he muttered. He'd never had any problem with how much he had worked before, worked _and_ studied, but it had been a while since he had had anyone that he had wanted to spend so much time with.

"What time do you get off?" Clary scrunched up her nose as she pushed herself up onto the bench beside Sebastian and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Around three, when the club closes," Sebastian replied. "At least I'm not on the bar staff, they sometimes have to hang around for an hour or so after the club closes to do the clean up. Only one of us on the security have to hang around with them, and Jake drew the short straw for tonight, so I can leave as soon as everyone's out." Clary nodded and Jace smiled at them, eyes drifting between them before he stepped forward and reached up for a kiss from Sebastian, his hand resting on Clary's knee.

"We'll see you tomorrow, then? Are you working then as well?" Clary asked, looking up at Sebastian hopefully and he made an unhappy noise at the back of his throat. And it was genuine, because he _did_ work a lot. If he hadn't been staying over so many nights at their place, then it would be hard to navigate time to spend with both of them.

"Friday night...Yeah," Sebastian nodded. "Well, Friday afternoon, actually, at the hotel. But I've got all of Saturday off. You know," he offered Clary a smile and danced his eyebrows around a little bit. "For your big plans of getting stoned and having sex."

"Hey!" Clary laughed and held up a finger before pointing it at Jace. "I'll have you know, it wasn't just me! Jace was into the sex and weed plan as well!" Jace just laughed and scrunched up his nose.

"Yeah, but you're the more reckless one among us, so it's easy to put the blame on you," Jace replied as he leaned against Sebastian's shoulder, the one that Clary wasn't pressed against. She reached across Sebastian's chest and jabbed Jace in the shoulder, and he grinned and swatted at her hand, before grabbing it properly and lifting it to his mouth, kissing her palm. Sebastian just watched the pair of them before sliding a palm around Jace's hips and the other around Clary's shoulders.

"Sorry, but I _do_ really need to go," Sebastian said regretfully. He pressed a kiss to Clary's cheek and then another to Jace's temple before moving away from the edge of the bench and the pair of them. "I'll text you guys later, yeah?" Clary was pouting, not happy about him leaving, and Sebastian had to admit, not for the first time since they had all started this _thing_ , he had thought about calling in sick. Jace moved over to wrap an around Clary's waist and she relaxed against him as though it was the easiest thing in the world, but the thing was, Sebastian knew that it was _more_ than just friendship between them now, and they both knew it as well, so that made it more important.

As he left the house and called out a second goodbye over his shoulder, he caught a glimpse through the front kitchen windows of their heads leaning together, Clary smiling at something that Jace was saying, and he watched as Jace stroked his fingers through Clary's long hair.

Jace had been the one most worried about this out of him and Sebastian.

Which made sense, since if Clary had said no to their proposition, then it might have made things a little bit awkward between them, but he wouldn't risk losing years of friendship.

But Sebastian had been really happy with the way that things had been unfolding recently, especially after their talk after he had found Clary on the couch. Obviously things were still new, and they were still finding their rhythm with each other and with the three of them together, but it seemed to be working. While he and Clary hadn't spent any time alone together, other than the shopping today, just because of their schedules, she'd still be sending him some rather explicit photos and messages. He had thought that maybe she'd sent them to both him and Jace, but Jace's eyes had flared with interest when Sebastian had shown them to him, so obviously she _hadn't_ , and it made him feel...Stupidly happy that Clary was making a direct effort with _him_ , since he knew that it wasn't as easy as with Jace.

He may have gotten off to those photos when he was alone at his apartment with thoughts of himself and Jace wrapped around Clary when she was in the pretty lingerie or had her skirt flipped up over her ass like in one particular photo more times that he would admit.

By the time Sebastian had gotten to his apartment, needing to make a pit stop at his place to change into a different pair of jeans and a black shirt with the logo of the club he was working at tonight on the back, he had a message on his phone from Clary. When he opened it up, he couldn't help but smile when he saw that it was a selfie of Jace and Clary, and she had littered the whole screen with multi-coloured love hearts.

He replied to the message with a couple of x's, because he did _not_ use emoji's and the only selfies he put up with were the ones that his friends asked him to be in, and then moved to get changed for work with a smile on his face.

 **Alright, so, obviously I didn't update last month. My bad. I'm in a pretty shitty spot, to be honest, mentally and physically and I've just got a lot going on right now. I'm still dealing with the abrupt loss of a family member and the fall out of that on my family and recently my husband has had a colleague take his life, which has brought up a lot for him. We're going to be okay, we're dealing with things, but I just need to take a breath right now. When I am in front of my computer and I'm actually focused enough to write, I'm not sticking to the schedules that I had before and I'm just writing what I really feel like which unfortunately hasn't been these stories. So I'm just...Gonna take a step back for a bit.**

 **You guys are all beautiful, and I'll be back soon, I just need a bit of a breather to re-centre myself.**

 **Since updating last, it has been World Coming Out Day and World Mental Health Day and I just wanted to say to anyone dealing with mental health issues and anyone in the LGBTQ+ community, whether you are out and loud or still processing things internally, you are all beautiful and deserve love and kindness. Just because I'm going to be away for a little bit, doesn't mean I'm unreachable, feel free to message me on my socials or on here if anyone ever wants to just chat, even if it's just about movies or songs, we all need to look after ourselves first, and then one another.**

 **Much love xx**

 **Tumblr: SereneCalamity**  
 **Twitter: CalamitySerene**


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